Serena saddled with record-levelling third-round loss

By Bill Scott Jun 26, 2005, 0:24 GMT

London - Two-time champion Serena Williams, hampered by an ankle injury, was hammered out Saturday night in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships, her earliest Grand Slam exit since 1999.

The winner of seven major titles lost to fellow American Jill Craybas 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) to complete a dismal scenario at the tournament, where she lifted trophies in 2002 and 2003.

Williams was beaten in the Wimbledon third round in 1998 and twice in 1999 at Paris and Roland Garros.

Williams is reportedly suffering with an ankle stress fracture and had not played wince the Italian Open in early May, where she lost in the second round.

The number 85-ranked Craybas, a 30-year-old with one career title, stood 0-2 against Williams and had never won more than three games in any previous set.

Both defending champions advanced on schedule into the second week, with Roger Federer left wishing for a slightly more imposing performance.

"I have the feeling I should have won in three (sets), but in the end I'm happy to have won in four, really," said the Swiss world- beater, who won his 32nd straight match on grass with a 6-2, 6-7 (5- 7), 6-1, 7-5 defeat of German Nicolas Kiefer.

"In the end, if I win in five, five hours on court, or in one hour, it doesn't matter as long as I keep on winning. I have to keep that in mind."

Lindsay Davenport, who lifted the last of her three Grand Slam titles five years ago, overwhelmed Russian Dinara Safina 6-2, 6-1 to claim a third-round match, which was postponed by Friday's rain.

The 28-year-old American, who was toying with retirement in recent years before reigniting her desire, has so far proved that she made the right choice by not bothering with any pre-Wimbledon tournaments.

"These are the best grass courts anywhere," said the world number 1, under pressure from defending champion Maria Sharapova, another winner on a grey day with her 6-2, 6-4 result over Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia.

"That's a reason why I don't necessarily go to a lot of other tournaments beforehand," said Davenport. "The courts there are not like the courts here."

Sharapova had to salvage a break point as she served for victory a game later, finally getting through on her third try with a forehand winner to the corner.

"The score doesn't say much about the match," said Sharapova. "It was a lot tougher than it seemed."

French Open finalist Mary Pierce, seeded 12th, reached the fourth round with a win over Serbian teenager Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-4; Czech Kveta Peschke put out 1994 Wimbledon winner Conchita Martinez of Spain 6-4, 6-1.

Seeds Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Nathalie Dechy all advanced in straight sets.

Federer, bidding for a Wimbledon hattrick, lost his first set of the week against Kiefer, who beat him on grass three years ago in Halle.

Federer, who has now won his last four against Kiefer, moves into a fourth-round test, claiming victory with his 14 aces after dominating with 52 winners and breaking Kiefer seven times.

He improved to 21-4 at Wimbledon and next faces Spain's former world number 1, Juan Carlos Ferrero, who put out German Florian Mayer 3-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-1.

"This was definitely a test today," said the Swiss. "I think I had to survive some tough moments.

"Tiebreakers are always tough. I should have never lost that one, but he stayed in it. In the fourth I had to really turn it around - I started to play better in time."

Ninth seed Sebastien Grosjean of France beat Serbia's Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4 while 12th-seeded Swede Thomas Johansson beat another Serbian, Janko Tipsarevic, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1.