Ivanovic Discovers Net's Worth in Victory

With the Match In Balance, Ball Teeters Her Way

WIMBLEDON, England, June 25 -- In the end, after the longest match of her life, Ana Ivanovic jogged to Centre Court and kissed her opponent on both cheeks.

Then she turned to the fans who had erupted in a standing ovation and blew kisses in every direction. Finally, she walked to the spot along the net cord where the ball had teetered for what felt like an eternity as she faced match point in the second set before it landed, mercifully, on Nathalie Dechy's side of the court.

Ivanovic kissed the net, too.

Wimbledon's No. 1 seed couldn't produce enough kisses to express her relief and joy over surviving a grueling second-round match Wednesday, prevailing 6-7 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3), 10-8, after a 3-hour 24-minute test of physical stamina and mental fortitude.

"If it wasn't for that net . . . I would be booking my flight, you know, back home," said the 20-year-old Ivanovic, who had been riding a cloud of euphoria since winning her first Grand Slam event, the French Open, on June 7 and ascending to the No. 1 world ranking two days later.

Ivanovic's childhood friend, fellow Serbian Novak Djokovic, wasn't as fortunate. The third-seeded Djokovic, whom some considered the man most likely to derail Roger Federer's bid for a sixth consecutive Wimbledon title, was ousted in straight sets by Russia's Marat Safin, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion, was in Federer's half of the draw and would have met the Swiss champion in the semifinals, had he played up to form. But Djokovic flashed only a shadow of his ability against Safin, a former world No. 1, double-faulting 10 times -- including twice in a row on the final two points of the match.

"It was certainly a very bad day for me," said Djokovic, 21. "I didn't do anything that I was supposed to do, and he was very solid in all segments of the game. He was serving well and putting a lot of pressure on me."

Meantime, Federer sailed on, defeating the hard-serving Robin Soderling, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), to advance to the third round. Soderling, who represents what little endures of Sweden's once-proud tennis tradition, could take some satisfaction in having become the first player to break Federer's serve in his last seven matches on grass. Other than that, he barely dented the champion's armor.

Federer seemed slightly irked by a suggestion that his path to this year's Wimbledon final had been made easier by the ouster of Djokovic. The Serb scored his first victory over Federer earlier this year in Australia. And speculation that Federer's supremacy now is in doubt only increased after a rare loss to American Andy Roddick and a straight-sets trouncing by Rafael Nadal in the French Open.

The fact "that Novak lost doesn't make my day any better," Federer said. "I'm through to the third round, so that's really what I'm focusing on. But it's true, [Djokovic's loss] is a big upset."

Yet nothing matched the drama of the battle waged between Ivanovic and Dechy, 29, who was making her 13th consecutive Wimbledon appearance.