Five-times champion Roger Federer swept into the fourth round of Wimbledon with the minimum of fuss yesterday and another masterly display of grasscourt tennis. World no.1 Federer blitzed Frenchman Marc Giquel 6-3 6-3 6-1 and need not have removed his fancy cardigan, his 62nd consecutive win on grass proving one of his easiest.
Ana Ivanovic's luck, however, finally ran out when she was toppled 6-1 6-4 in the third round by China's Zheng Jie.
Forty-eight hours after the Serb world no.1 saved two match points against Nathalie Dechy, the second with the help of a netcord, she suffered an astonishing meltdown on Court One.
The French Open champion struggled to keep the ball in play as she either sprayed errors off the court or scooped shots into the net with alarming regularity.
The 133rd-ranked Zheng could hardly believe her eyes when Ivanovic shovelled a service return into the net to gift her the first set in 30 minutes. It was all over 42 minutes later when Ivanovic miscued a shot high into the sky on match point.
"It's such a surprise for me," the soft-spoken Zheng said just moments after stepping off court.
"I just tried my best and told myself to 'keep going, keep going'."
In a tournament already rocked by defeats of former champion Maria Sharapova, men's third seed Novak Djokovic and twice runner-up Andy Roddick, Ivanovic became the latest big name to catch an early flight out of London.
Federer, bidding to set a modern era record of six men's titles in a row, now has two days off before returning on Monday to face Lleyton Hewitt, the 2002 champion.
After four days of sunshine and uninterrupted play, the rain clouds briefly gathered over south-west London, forcing a 90-minute delay to the start of play on the showcourts.
Federer took less than 90 minutes to dispose of Giquel, despite suffering the ignominy of dropping his opening service game to raise one or two eyebrows on Centre Court.
Hewitt arrived at Wimbledon still battling a painful hip injury but after being taken the full distance in his opening contest by Dutchman Robin Haase, the Australian has enjoyed two trouble-free contests.
Italy's Simone Bolelli became his latest victim, trounced 6-1 6-3 7-6 as Hewitt reached the last 16 for the fifth year running.
Hewitt will have to lift his game again to trouble Federer. Their head-to-head record stands at 13-7 in favour of the Swiss, who has won their last 11 meetings.
With Sharapova suffering a shock exit on Thursday, her compatriot and fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova might have felt some trepidation in setting foot on Court Two against Czech Barbora Zahlavova Strycova but encountered few problems in a 6-2 6-4 victory.
Kuznetsova had raced into a 6-2 2-0 lead when they came off for rain, not soon enough for a furious Zahlavova Strycova unhappy at having to contend with a slippery court.
The Russian struggled to rediscover her consistency when the covers came off but Zahlavova Strycova failed to capitalise on two breaks.
Eighth seed Anna Chakvetadze became the second Russian woman into the last 16 after motoring past compatriot Evgeniya Rodina 6-4 6-3.
The 21-year-old Russian now takes on 18th seed Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic.
Marion Bartoli's fairytale run to the final last year took the tennis world by surprise but the Frenchwoman's form deserted her yesterday, the 11th seed falling 6-4 6-1 to American Bethanie Mattek.
Serena Williams convincingly won the battle of the former champions, overcoming Amelie Mauresmo 7-6 6-1 in the third round.
Sixth seed Williams, winner in 2002 and 2003, came through an intense opening set full of high quality tennis before running away with the match. Williams will face Mattek in the last 16.