Zheng dumps Ivanovic out in last 32

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON (Reuters) - World number one Ana Ivanovic's luck finally ran out at Wimbledon on Friday when she was toppled 6-1 6-4 in the third round by China's Zheng Jie.

Forty-eight hours after the Serb 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.

"It's never easy to lose. But you also have to realise that the world won't end," said Ivanovic, who could now lose her top ranking to fellow Serb Jelena Jankovic or Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia.