A dazed Novak Djokovic was jettisoned from Wimbledon and fellow Serb Ana Ivanovic was lucky not to suffer the same fate on a day of high drama at the All England Club.
Third seed Djokovic became the biggest name to tumble out of the grasscourt championships when hewas dumped in the second round by Marat Safin yesterday. The Russian dismantled Djokovic for a 6-4 7-6 6-2 victory on a surface he claims to hate.
Nathalie Dechy came within a whisker of knocking out world number one Ivanovic on Court One.
But a lucky netcord, at match point down in the second set, allowed Ivanovic to stage a great escape and she shrieked in delight after completing a pulsating 6-7 7-6 10-8 win over the unfortunate Dechy.
"I couldn't believe it, I was so lucky," Ivanovic said after surviving the three hour 24 minute thriller.
Djokovic also could not believe his luck but for all the wrong reasons.
The Australian Open champion had been expected to roll over the former world No 1, who is out of form.
But yesterday, the unpredictable Russian produced magical tennis. As Safin whipped winner after winner past Djokovic, the Serb lost the will to fight and bowed out with two successive double faults, taking his tally to 10 for the match.
"It was certainly a very bad day for me. I didn't do anything I was supposed to do," said the 21-year-old, who reached at least the semifinals in his last five grand slams.
But it was business as usual for some former champions. Lleyton Hewitt and Serena Williams were both demoted to Wimbledon's infamous Court Two but avoided any hiccups to reach the third round.
