Top seed Ana Ivanovic survived two match points before 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 at the French Open, often looked tentative but survived through sheer persistence to land the tightest of victories.

In the first set, Ivanovic dropped just two points as she sailed into a 3-0 lead. But she then lost her serve twice, Dechy seized the initiative and captured the tiebreak 7-2.

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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