Curtain falls for Ivanisevic at Wimbledon

Monday, June 21st 2004, 6:09 am

By: News On 6

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) _ Goran Ivanisevic ended his tennis career Friday, leaving Centre Court to a rousing standing ovation after losing in straight sets to the man who succeeded him as Wimbledon champion two years ago.

The 32-year-old Croat couldn't recreate the magic that carried him to the title as an unseeded wild card in 2001, and he fell 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 to Lleyton Hewitt.

``It was a victory for me to come here, play two matches and lose to a guy who is a Wimbledon champion and who is a great player,'' Ivanisevic said. ``Everything was perfect _ the weather, the crowd, the court. I just enjoyed myself.''

A day after sister Venus was the victim of an umpire's mistake during a second-round defeat, top-seeded Serena Williams swept into the third round with a 6-0, 6-4 win over French qualifier Stephanie Foretz.

The All England Club said Friday that Ted Watts, the chair umpire who gave Karolina Sprem a point she didn't earn in the final tiebreaker of her win over Venus Williams, won't officiate another match at the tournament.

Andy Roddick advanced in straight sets Friday, beating 128th-ranked Alexander Peya of Austria, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-4, but he wasn't entirely happy with his game.

``It was OK, I did enough to win,'' the second-seeded American said. ``I still don't feel like I'm playing my best tennis. I have to pick up my game in the next round.''

There were two big upsets, with women's French Open champion Anastasia Myskina and men's French Open runner-up Guillermo Coria both going out.

No. 2-seeded Myskina was eliminated 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the third round by Amy Frazier, a 31-year-old American making her 16th appearance at Wimbledon. Frazier, ranked No. 36, hadn't advanced past the third round since 1996.

Three of the top six women's seeds have been knocked out before the first weekend _ Myskina, No. 3 Venus Williams and No. 6 Elena Dementieva, the losing finalist at the French Open.

In the biggest upset in the men's draw so far, third-seeded Coria lost in the second round to Germany's Florian Mayer, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. Coria, an Argentine clay-courter who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year, had needed four days to compete a rain-delayed first-round match over Wesley Moodie on Thursday.

Ivanisevic, who was unable to defend his title and missed the last two Wimbledons because of injuries, said before these championships that this would be final tournament.

Despite passionate support from the fans, including shouts of ``We love you, Goran,'' he never managed to mount a challenge in the third-round match against the No. 7-seeded Hewitt.

After the Australian ripped a forehand winner to end the match, the two players chatted at length at the net.

``I think he said something like, 'You killed me out there today,' `` Hewitt said. ``I said, 'You're a great champion' and it's been an honor playing against him out here on Centre Court.''

Ivanisevic soaked up a two-minute standing ovation from the 13,000-capacity crowd. He put on a No. 10 Croatian soccer shirt, drawing good-natured boos from the English fans. But the cheers returned as he left the court for the last time.

Ivanisevic served 15 aces, but also had nine double faults. Hewitt had 15 passing shot winners and converted four of 17 break points. Ivanisevic never reached a break point on Hewitt's serve.

Among those reaching the third round Friday was fifth-seeded Tim Henman, who beat Swiss qualifier Ivo Heuberger, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2, to continue his bid to become the first British player to win the men's title since 1936.

In women's play, fourth-seeded Amelie Mauresmo beat American qualifier Jennifer Hopkins, 6-3, 6-3, and No. 7 Jennifer Capriati downed British wild card Elena Baltacha, 6-4, 6-4.

Serena Williams, the two-time defending champion, had an uneven performance on Court 1 against a 125th-ranked player who had never won a Wimbledon match until the first round.

Williams sailed through the first set in 22 minutes, ripping a backhand down-the-line winner on set point. Then, after going 4-2 down in the second set, Williams won four straight games to close out the match in 64 minutes.

``I just kind of slacked off a little bit in the second set,'' said Williams, who committed 23 unforced errors. ``There are still some things I want to try to work on.''

Sprem said Thursday she was confused but was focusing on the match.

Roddick had some tough moments against Peya, who lost in the final qualifying round but got a place in the main draw when another player pulled out with an injury.

The match took place on Court 2, known as the graveyard of champions, where many former winners and big names have lost matches over the years. Roddick said he could hear the din coming from the outdoor restaurant and VIP area overlooking the court.

``I'm not used to being able to hear people eating in the dining room, ordering lunch all that stuff,'' he said.

Roddick will next face Taylor Dent, another American big server, who defeated Stefano Pescosolido 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (3).