Top seed Ana Ivanovic survived two match points, one of them an agonisingly close net cord, before finally beating France's Nathalie Dechy 6-7, 7-6, 10-8 in a second round thriller at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
The Serbian new world number one, fresh from her triumph in the French Open, often looked tentative but survived through sheer persistence to land the narrowest of victories in a scrappy match.
Ivanovic confessed that her heart missed a beat when she survived one match point on a net cord. "I couldn't believe it, I was so lucky," she said after her three hour 24 minute match.
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"It was really, really close and only a few balls decided it," she told BBC television.
The pair were deservedly given a standing ovation after their seesaw battle of nerves and the 20-year-old Ivanovic said: "I was really happy I managed to stay calm...It was an amazing match."
In the first set, Ivanovic dropped two points as she sailed into a 3-0 lead. But then she lost her serve twice and Dechy seized the initiative, capturing the tiebreak 7-2.
It was a superb never-say-die performance by the 29-year-old who is ranked 97 in the world.
In the second set, Ivanovic looked to be back in control and had three break points for a 4-1 lead. Dechy, refusing to be denied, levelled the match and had two match points at 5-4. But Ivanovic fought back to land the tiebreak 7-3.
In a nerve-tingling final set, Ivanovic swept into a 4-2 lead. But Dechy clawed her way back to 5-5 and then survived two match points at 6-5 before finally succumbing 10-8.
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