Maria Sharapova was floored at Wimbledon on Thursday by the daughter of a Greco-Roman wrestler. Ranked 154th in the world, Alla Kudryavtseva had barely registered on the tennis radar but that did not stop her humiliating 2004 champion Sharapova 6-2, 6-4. After a driving forehand sealed the biggest win of her career, Kudryavtseva leapt into the air and shrieked in delight. Twenty four hours after third seed Novak Djokovic was ejected from the tournament, Janko Tipsarevic kept alive Serbian interest in the men's draw by squeezing past twice former runner-up and sixth seed Andy Roddick 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, 7-6. Roddick's exit completed a bad day for the Americans after Lindsay Davenport bowed out without hitting a ball and ninth seed James Blake emerged second best in a 6-3, 6-7, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 defeat by Germany's Rainer Schuettler. Davenport pulled out of her match against Argentina's Gisela Dulko with a right knee injury. The 1999 champion then hinted she might have played her last match at the All England Club. Asked if she would be back at Wimbledon in 2009, the 32-year-old said: “I guess not.” Sharapova certainly looked very fragile on Thursday and, for the second Grand Slam running she had no one but herself to blame for her listless performance. The Russian hit 43 double faults during her four-match stay at Roland Garros and on Thursday produced another eight. The last one gifted Kudryavtseva match point and the 20-year-old made sure it did not go to waste when she snatched victory moments later to end Sharapova's 84-minute ordeal. “It's very pleasant to beat ... Maria,” the 20-year-old Kudryavtseva said after the match. “Why? Well, I don't like her outfit. Can I put it this way? “It was one of the motivations to beat her,” she added. They're both Russians, both living in Florida and they're only a year apart in age. But they're worlds apart in profile. They've both been involved in Russia's Fed Cup team, but barely know each other except for a casual hi. Kudryavtseva has never won a title and had earned US$358,450 in prize money coming into Wimbledon. Sharapova, 21, has 19 titles and more than $12 million in prize money. Tipsarevic also went for his shots, withstanding a barrage of aces to subdue the big-serving Roddick. “(I'm) pretty distraught ... any chance I got I choked it, it's tough to deal with,” said Roddick. “I could sit and dance around it all night ... you guys saw it ... I just played horrific shots on break points.” His exit left the men's draw without three of the top six seeds since Nikolay Davydenko flopped in the first round. Champion Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal also suffered a few anxious moments but lived to fight another day. Venus, seeking a fifth singles title here, had to draw on all her big-match experience to repel world number 92 Anne Keothavong 7-5, 6-2. Nadal also endured first-set jitters before he toppled rising Latvian Ernests Gulbis 5-7, 6-2, 7-6, 6-3. The Spanish second seed had been hoping for a brisk workout against the 48th ranked Gulbis but instead dropped a set at a major for the first time since the Australian Open in January. Attempting to become the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1980 to win Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season, Nadal will next be up against Germany's Nicolas Kiefer. Andy Murray, the 12th seed, avoided any drama and kept the British faithfuls happy with a ruthless 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win over former semifinalist Xavier Malisse. French Open finalist Dinara Safina found her comfort zone on grass to coast past Taiwan's Hsieh Su-wei 6-3, 6-2, while second seed Jelana Jankovic beat Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro 6-1, 6-3. India's Sania Mirza crashed out against Spain's Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 0-6, 6-4, 7-9 defeat on Thursday. – Reuters __
