Dark horses make hay in SW19's sun

Of all the Grand Slams, history suggests that Wimbledon offers the best chance for a non-seed to progress through the rounds. Short points mean those returning from injury or fighting to recover form are at less of a disadvantage.

Safin, the former world No1 and winner of two Grand Slam titles, came to SW19 this week holding a ranking of 75 that reflected in particular the impact of a serious knee injury sustained in 2006.

That the 28-year-old was able to capitalise on an uncharacteristic series of errors made by Djokovic did not surprise Boris Becker, the former Wimbledon title holder now commentating for the BBC. Of tennis's notorious loose canon Becker said: "Nobody expected much of Safin but I have been watching his results over the last couple of months. He put time and effort in to his game again, and the results have followed.

"He was a very successful player, he made a lot of money so the question for him is: 'Where do I go from here? Do I quit altogether or do I come back and put the hours into training?'

"A Grand Slam winner going back to qualifying says everything about his state of mind."

With Djokovic and 15th seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, beaten in four sets by Italy's Simone Bolelli, now missing from the top half of the draw, the prospects of Safin and Ancic making the quarter finals before defending champion Federer comes into the equation look good.

Ancic will have gained heart from the manner in which he was able to go three hours and 11 minutes against German qualifier Philipp Petzschner before winning 6-1, 6-4, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3 in a match that finally ended at 9.14pm last night.

It was only last year that Ancic, at the time regarded as a genuine challenger to the dominance of Federer and the emerging talent of Nadal, was struck down by a virulent bout of glandular fever.

The tall 24-year-old recalled: "I became sick straight after the Australian Open. There is no cure for what I got, you just have to be patient and hope that your body recovers.

"Basically I was sleeping 17 hours a day. I could not train. I was at home lying in bed doing nothing."

It took nearly six months for Ancic to recover, but as he was preparing for his comeback he suffered a serious shoulder injury and was forced to withdraw from the US Open.

He said: "I missed four Grand Slams in a row, I was out of the game for a total of nearly a year and from being ranked in the top 10 I dropped to 140.

"Everybody who follows me knows that I've been really, really unlucky with everything that has happened to me. But now I'm back."

And tipped, of course, by Ivanisevic to halt Federer's march to a record sixth straight title.

Ancic, who spent his time away from the game studying for a law degree, acknowledged the vote of confidence from his compatriot.

Now back at 43 in the rankings, he said: "It was nice of Goran to support me, and since he won here he knows what it takes. I don't have great expectations this time, but I am enjoying playing more than ever because I know how much I missed it while I was away.

"I believe I still have the game to succeed, and I believe in myself. Now it is a question of going step-by-step back to the top 10 where I was and where I think I belong.

"Can I win this year? A couple of people have won Wimbledon when they were least expected to do it, and Goran was one of them. Funny things happen at Wimbledon with us Croatians."

Maybe, but Ancic will have to take his next test seriously. Lying in wait in the third round is fifth seed David Ferrer of Spain who yesterday came from a set down to overcome Safin's countryman Igor Andreev 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.

In public. Federer refused to make much of the threat posed by Safin. After a decent work-out beating Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 he conceded that the defeat of third seed Djokovic was "a big upset".

But Federer added: "That Novak lost doesn't make my day any better, but my match counts. I did well. I beat a quality player. I'm through to the third round and that's really what I'm focusing on."

Still, he will ignore the progress of Safin and Ancic at his peril.