Wed Jun 25 10:42:07 2008

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Safin stuns Djokovic at Wimbledon

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Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - The men's draw at Wimbledon lost one of its "Big Three" players on Wednesday, when former top-ranked star Marat Safin stunned Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in second-round action at the year's third Grand Slam event.

The unseeded Safin sent the third-seeded Djokovic packing with a 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 decision on the famed Centre Court at the All England Club. Djokovic headed to Wimbledon having played in two of the last three major finals. He lost to Roger Federer in last year's U.S. Open finale and beat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in this year's Aussie Open title bout.

Djokovic had won 19 of his previous 21 Grand Slam matches and appeared in five straight major semifinals.

The two-time major titlist Safin played solid tennis on Day 3 of this fortnight, as the big Russian served well, was crushing his mammoth two-handed backhand, and returned well throughout en route to the stunner.

Djokovic saved three match points before Safin converted on a fourth when the flat Serb double faulted to end the bout. Djokovic struggled mightily amid windy conditions on Centre Court, as he piled up 10 double faults and misfired for 28 unforced errors.

A vintage Safin dismissed the 21-year-old Djokovic in just over two hours, as he notched seven aces and broke his Serbian counterpart four times while only being broken once. The Russian is now 2-0 lifetime against Djokovic and has won all six sets played between the two. Safin also straight-setted Djokovic in the opening round at the 2005 Australian Open.

The 28-year-old Safin, who captured the U.S. Open in 2000 and won the Aussie Open in '05, typically does not like to play on grass and has never advanced beyond the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, where he's now 13-8 lifetime.