From the Associated Press:
WIMBLEDON, England -- Novak Djokovic was upset in straight
sets by Marat Safin in the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday,
ending the Serb's chances of testing his theory about Roger
Federer's vulnerability.
The 75th-ranked Safin won 6-4, 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Centre Court. It
was a stunning loss for the third-ranked Djokovic, who came to the
All England Club confident after beating top-ranked Federer in the
semifinals at this year's Australian Open en route to his first
Grand Slam tournament title.
Top-ranked Ana Ivanovic, another Serb, also struggled, but won.
The French Open champion saved two match points -- including one
that bounced off the net chord for a winner -- in the second set
before overcoming 29-year-old Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy 6-7 (2),
7-6 (3), 10-8.
Also on the women's side, two-time champion Serena Williams
advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Urszula Radwanska on Court 2, the
so-called "graveyard of champions" for its history of upsets.
The 21-year-old Djokovic came up against one of the toughest
second-round opponents he could have drawn.
Former No. 1 Safin has won two Grand Slam titles. One came when
he upset Federer in an Australian Open semifinal en route to the
2005 title. Safin beat Djokovic in the first round of that
tournament -- their only previous meeting.
"It was certainly a very bad day for me," Djokovic said. "I
didn't do anything that I was supposed to -- he was very solid in
all segments."
Djokovic had said Federer, bidding for his sixth consecutive
Wimbledon crown, was vulnerable after his recent lopsided French
Open loss to No. 2-ranked Rafael Nadal.
The hype surrounding those comments set up an enticing semifinal
here. Now, it will be Safin who tries to go down that path.
Safin said he came in under the radar, with Djokovic under all
the pressure.
"He's the one who has to win matches. For me, nobody expects
anything," said Safin, who admitted he had not dared look beyond
the second round. "Now, I'll have to check -- the way I'm playing
now, I could go far."
Djokovic seemed to be vulnerable himself, playing on a surface
he is not entirely comfortable on and struggling with his serve in
a blustery breeze. After saving three match points, he served a
double-fault to give his Russian opponent a fourth, then
double-faulted again to concede.
"I was serving a lot of double-faults, which is unusual," said
Djokovic, who was broken twice in each of the first and third sets
and only broke Safin's serve once. "I was just not finding my
momentum."
Ivanovic was erratic against a resilient Dechy, who saved two
match points on her own serve in the 12th game of the third set.
Ivanovic set up three more match points at 0-40 in the 18th game
and, after Dechy saved one, the 20-year-old Serb squealed with
delight and kissed the net after hitting a forehand winner to end
it in 3 hours, 24 minutes.
"It was an amazing match," Ivanovic said. "In the second set
I saved some match points and from that point on I just thought
it's my second chance."
She said her heart skipped a beat when she won match point.
"Once it went in I just couldn't believe it," she said. "I'm
just so, so thrilled."
Ivanovic next plays China's Zheng Jie, a 6-2, 7-5 winner over
Britain's Elena Baltacha.
Lleyton Hewitt, another former champion, also survived Court 2.
The only other Wimbledon champion in the men's draw, Hewitt
advanced 7-6 (4), 6-0, 6-2 over Albert Montanes of Spain that was
much quicker than his opening five-setter.
In other women's matches, Marion Bartoli, last year's losing
finalist, beat Tatiana Perebiynis 6-2, 7-5, fourth-seeded Svetlana
Kuznetsova ousted Ukraine's Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-3 and 2007
quarterfinalist Nicole Vaidisova dropped nine straight games to
fall behind a break in the third set before recovering to beat
Samantha Stosur 6-2, 0-6, 6-4.
After losing, Djokovic shook his head as he walked forward, and
hugged Safin across the net. Djokovic said he might have had too
much respect for Safin's obvious but often erratic talent.
"Safin is a player who is known as a big talent, but again, he
makes a lot of unforced errors," he said. "I had opportunities,
but I just made some unforced errors, which were really
uncharacteristic, without any sense.
"Safin still has his ups and downs, and is known for his mental
instability in some ways, but he's still a great player. He wants
to step it up again. (Today) he was mentally there."
Grass is not Safin's favorite surface, either. Wimbledon is the
only major where he has not advanced beyond the quarterfinals. But
he is a dangerous opponent now.
Federer is most at home on grass -- he is on a 60-match winning
streak on the surface. He had a potentially tough second-round
match later Wednesday on Centre Court against Sweden's Robin
Soderling.
Another former No. 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero, had to retire with a
leg injury in the third set when he was behind 6-4, 6-4, 2-1 to
20-year-old Mischa Zverev. Ferrero reached the quarterfinals last
year before losing to Federer.
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