op-seeded Ana Ivanovic was knocked out in the third round of Wimbledon on Friday by 133rd-ranked Zheng Jie of China, extending a spate of stunning upsets at the All England Club.
Ivanovic, who took over the No. 1 ranking after winning the French Open earlier this month, slumped to a 6-1, 6-4 loss to the wild-card entry and doubles specialist.
Ivanovic, who saved two match points before overcoming Nathalie Dechy in three sets on Wednesday, had no answer for the hard-hitting Zheng.
"It's a surprise for me," said the 24-year-old Zheng, who won the Wimbledon doubles title in 2006. "Thanks to Wimbledon (which) gave me a wild card. I just tried my best and had to keep going, going."
Ivanovic went out a day after 2004 champion and third-seeded Maria Sharapova was ousted by 154th-ranked Alla Kudryavtseva and two-time men's runnerup Andy Roddick was bounced by Janko Tipsarevic. A day earlier, Australian Open champion and No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic fell to Marat Safin.
Roger Federer continued his march toward a sixth straight Wimbledon title by beating Marc Gicquel in straight sets Friday, setting up a fourth-round matchup with the last man to win the championship before him.
Two-time women's champion Serena Williams dispatched 2006 winner Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 (5), 6-1, extending her supremacy over the Frenchwoman to a career record 10-2.
After the first rain delay of the tournament, Federer overwhelmed the 53rd-ranked Frenchman 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 on Centre Court for his 62nd consecutive win on grass and 37th straight at the All England Club.
His next opponent will be Lleyton Hewitt, who won Wimbledon in 2002 — the year before the Swiss star began his run of five straight titles.
Federer surprisingly dropped serve in the opening game. But he immediately broke back and was in control the rest of the way as he sailed to victory in 1 hour, 21 minutes. The rain delay before the match lasted longer — 1 hour, 41 minutes — the first rain of the tournament.
"Again, difficult conditions, tricky opponent," Federer said. "The wind was swirling. I got down a break in the first game and had to rally back. I played really well throughout the match considering the circumstances."
Federer hasn't dropped a set so far in the tournament.
"It's always nice," he said. "Couple of days off now. Hope I play as well next week. It's important to try to keep the game where it is."
Hewitt, who has been troubled by a chronic hip injury and is seeded No. 20, served 14 aces and beat Italy's Simone Bolelli 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (2).
Federer leads Hewitt 13-7 in career meetings and has won 11 straight going back to the Australian Open in 2004. They have played twice before at Wimbledon, with Federer winning in the quarterfinals in 2004 and semifinals in 2005.
"The next round will be much more difficult," Federer said. "We've played maybe over 16 times. He's a former No. 1 and Grand Slam champion. Should be a great match."
Williams followed Federer on Centre Court and, despite an erratic performance in windy conditions, swept past Mauresmo for the third time in three matches at Wimbledon.
"It was so windy out there and I couldn't make my shots," Williams said. "It was a little frustrating, but I'm glad I was able to pull that tiebreaker through. It was definitely intense. I don't think I played my best tennis, but I'm glad I pulled through."
Williams led 3-0 in the first set, but Mauresmo won four straight games. Williams saved a break point to avoid going down 5-4 and came through in the tiebreaker with some big shots, including a topspin lob winner.
Williams went up 3-0 again in the second set, and Mauresmo took an injury time-out for treatment on her heavily taped left thigh. Serving for the match, Williams was broken at love, but she broke back in the next game to close out the match with a forehand winner.
The 31-year-old Gicquel, who had never gone beyond the first round at Wimbledon, has a big serve and strong forehand but couldn't trouble Federer. Gicquel saved a set point on his own serve at 3-5, but Federer closed it out in the next game with a 129 mph ace.
On the final point of the second set, Federer whipped a forehand that left Gicquel lunging and doing the splits. Federer cruised through the third set in 20 minutes.
In women's play, advancing in early third-round matches were No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 8 Anna Chakvetadze, No. 14 Agnieszka Radwanska, No. 15 Agnes Szavay and No. 18 Nicole Vaidisova.
In men's matches, No. 11 Tomas Berdych lost to Ferndando Verdasco, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.
Two of Federer's main challengers are already out of the tournament. No. 3-ranked Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open champion who had loomed as a possible semifinal opponent, was upset in the second round by Marat Safin. Two-time finalist Andy Roddick was bounced out Thursday by Janko Tipsarevic.
Roddick was in the bottom half of the draw along with No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who has lost to Federer in the last two finals.
