On an afternoon that saw Serbia's Novak Djokovic bid farewell to the All England Club, countrywoman Ana Ivanovic narrowly avoided the same fate after tenaciously clawing her way back from two match points down against Frenchwoman Nathalie Dechy.

Ivanovic, the top seed, French Open champion and world No1, has survived a big scare before winning 6-7, 7-6, 10-8.

The 21-year-old Ivanovic began well but surrendered a 5-2 lead to lose the first set on the tie-break.

Ivanovic continued to struggle in the second and saved two match points when serving at 4-5 down with a lucky net cord keeping her in the match.

The curtain finally fell on an afternoon of high drama when Dechy, serving to stay in the match in the 18th game of a titanic final set, was unable to reach a stinging forehand from Ivanovic, who promptly kissed the net in recognition of its role in an unforgettable encounter.


"It was an amazing match. She played really well and gave me a tough match, " said Ivanovic. "When I saw the ball roll over the net on the second match point I thought that was my second chance. My heart missed a beat when it went on the other side. I was so lucky."


(source Guardian, photo/Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Ivanovic beats Dechy in thriller