Another shock as number 25 seed knocked out

Jun 29 2008 By George Cheyne

GIANT-KILLER Janko Tipsarevic swung the axe again yesterday as he ground out a three-set victory over 25th seed Dimitry Tursunov.

Tipsarevic, who beat Andy Roddick in the second round, kept up his brilliant run of formwith a 7-6 7-6 6-3 win on Court Two.

He took two hours 22 minutes to finish off Tursunov and now faces German Rainer Schuettler in the fourth round. The bearded Serb, ranked No.40 in the world, was bristling for the battle right from the start and ripped into the Russian's serve time after time.

The onslaught left Tursunov unsure whether to play his natural attacking game and he dithered too often on the important points.

The 24-year-old winner said: "That was a good victory. I am proud of myself because I have managed to beat a big name then continue playing with the same intensity and pick up another win in the next round.

"The match was really tight, especially in the first two sets.

"Both of us had a couple of break points which we didn't get. The difference was I played better than him in the tie-breaks.

"By the time it got to the third set all I had to do was get in early, secure a break then hold my serve till the end."

Tipsarevic certainly believes in the power of positive thinking and keeps his edge by talking to himself between points.

He explained: "I can become lazy on court so the best way to stop this is to talk to myself all the time.

"It helps me mentally prepare. I knew this match would be tough. Tursunov has a really strong serve, just like Roddick, and I had to be alert to stop it.

"I was telling myself to be active on the returns because if you go to sleep against guys like that they will punish you."

Veteran Schuettler wasn't in the mood for sun-bathing as he dumped Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in straight sets.

The 32-year-old German didn't stay out in the scorching heat of Court Three any longer than necessary and whipped Garcia-Lopez 6-2 6-3 6-4.

It took him two hours and one minute to batter poor Garcia-Lopez into submission with his power game.

Schuettler, ranked 94 in the world, said: "That felt good, especially at my age. I've been playing well in recent weeks after shaking off a few niggling injuries.

"Now I can get a bit of a rest and take things from there."