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Safin Upsets No. 3 Djokovic

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By JOHN PYE

The Associated Press

Published: June 26, 2008

WIMBLEDON, England - Novak Djokovic was upset in straight sets by Marat Safin in the second round Wednesday, ending the Serb's chances of testing his theory about Roger Federer's vulnerability at Wimbledon.

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 Federer only had a minor hiccup - dropping serve once, the first time since Roland Garros - before getting past Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to extend his streak on grass to 61 matches. The Swiss star looked anything but vulnerable as he continued his bid for a sixth straight Wimbledon title.

"I think I played well. Moving well, feeling good," Federer said. "I got my first break against on grass this year, still, not too concerning. Honestly, I thought the performance was excellent."

Women's No. 1 Ana Ivanovic, another Serb, struggled but won. The French Open champion saved two match points - including one that bounced off the net cord for a winner - in the second set before overcoming 29-year-old Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 10-8.

Two-time champion Serena Williams had less trouble, advancing 6-4, 6-4 against Urszula Radwanska on Court 2, called the "graveyard of champions" for its history of upsets.

Djokovic, 21, 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 - 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."

In other women's matches, 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo recovered to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 against Virginia Ruano Pascual and 2007 finalist Marion Bartoli beat Tatiana Perebiynis 6-2, 7-5.

Also advancing were No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze and No. 18 Nicole Vaidisova, a quarterfinalist last season.

Lleyton Hewitt, the only other Wimbledon champion in the men's draw, survived Court 2 with a 7-6 (4), 6-0, 6-2 win against Albert Montanes of Spain.

Others advancing were No. 5 David Ferrer, No. 10 Marcos Baghdatis, No. 11 Tomas Berdych, No. 13 Stanislas Wawrinka and American Bobby Reynolds, who had a 4-6, 7-6 (10), 6-4, 6-4 victory against Canadian Frank Dancevic.

Another former No. 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero had to retire with a leg injury in the third set when he trailing Mischa Zverev.

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