| Wednesday, 25 June 2008 Written by Ronald Atkin Ana Ivanovic, the women’s world number one and top seed, moved into the third round by defeating Nathalie Dechy 6-7, 7-6, 10-8 in the finest women's match of the Championships so far. But she had to endure the closest of escapes, saving two match points in the second set. The second of these was an outrageous piece of good fortune for the 20-year-old French Open champion, a ball that struck the tape and dropped dead on Dechy's side of the net. From that moment it seemed Ivanovic was destined to win this see-saw thriller. But it needed much hard work and more luck to put away the plucky 29-year-old Frenchwoman, who made light of her recent dismal form and the fact that her left thigh was heavily bandaged. Dechy had saved three match points before Ivanovic's 36th outright forehand winner closed out the match after 3 hrs 24 mins. Dechy has only ever won one title, back in 2003, and this year she has failed to win consecutive matches, a sequence that was extended with this defeat. In the end, Ivanovic deserved to progress but the verdict was as wafer thin as her victory margin. The Serbian, who took Roland Garros by storm this month, was woefully out of form, especially in the first set. Only as the match progressed did her authority begin to show. Even then, there were enough blips and missed first serves to keep Dechy in the contest. It had all looked such a formality at the start as Ivanovic sprinted to a 3-0 lead. But Dechy, with a look of delighted disbelief, was helped by a string of Ivanovic errors not only to get back into the set but to win it after the Serb had served for the set at 5-3. Dechy ran away with the tie-break, allowing the top seed just two points. Unwrapping a new racket for the second set, Ivanovic broke early but was pegged back at 3-3 as Dechy, sensing this could be her day, began to hit more freely and powerfully. An inability to convert break points on four successive Dechy service games meant that, at 4-5, Ivanovic was serving to stave off defeat. Then came the two match points for Dechy and Ivanovic's net cord escape as the match headed for a second tie-break. The second tie-break was just as one-sided as the first, this time in favour of Ivanovic and after two hours the two players embarked on what would prove a marathon final set.
After three consecutive breaks of serve, Ivanovic served for the match at 5-3 - and was broken. With no tie-break in the final set, the two women slogged it out in the sunshine, with Dechy saving two match points at 5-6 as the match moved past its third hour. At last, it was the older woman who began to tire and the end came in the 18th game when she faced three more match points. One was bravely saved, but then the Ivanovic forehand did its work, leaving the top seed happy and very relieved. Her parting shot was a kiss for the net cord that had granted her the narrowest of reprieves in the second set. She will be hoping not to have to rely on such good luck when she meets China's Zheng Jie, conquerer of Britain's Elena Baltacha, in the third round.
| Court 1 - Ladies' Singles - 2nd Round | |
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