Safin serves Philippoussis walking papers
The big Russian waited out a five-minute delay while the Centre Court net was replaced in the second set, and he then finished off Philippoussis 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-4 Wednesday to reach the third round at Wimbledon for only the second time.
The net collapsed between points in the second set, prompting laughter from the crowd. "I've been here a long time, since 1977, and I watched on TV as a kid," three-time champion John McEnroe said. "And I've never seen that happen."
Joining Safin in the third round was two-time defending champion Roger Federer, who beat Ivo Minar 6-4, 6-4, 6-1. The top-ranked Federer held every service game and extended his grass-court winning streak to 31 matches, including 16 at the All England Club.
No. 3 Lleyton Hewitt hit 15 aces, giving him 34 in two matches, and beat Jan Hernych 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
On the women's side, top-ranked Lindsay Davenport beat fellow American Jamea Jackson 6-0, 6-3. Kim Clijsters lost just three service points, two on double-faults, and drubbed Marissa Irvin 6-1, 6-1. No. 3-seeded Amelie Mauresmo, U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, No. 6 Elena Dementieva and No. 9 Anastasia Myskina also won.
"I'm comfortable playing on it, and I'm confident," he said. "It's really important to have fun on grass, because it's a tough surface. You have to play a game that's not really comfortable. If you're not having fun, it's impossible to do anything good here. You can't have any patience if you're suffering."
Safin overcame three set points serving at 4-5, love-40 in the opening set. He reached break point only once but converted for a 4-3 lead in the final set, then served out the victory.
"That guy is going to be tough on any surface, whether he likes playing on it or not," Philippoussis said.
Philippoussis, the 2003 runner-up, lost despite hitting 46 unreturned serves, including 21 aces. Safin hit 43 unreturned serves and 20 aces.
Philippoussis, who has been plagued by injuries and needed a wild card to enter the tournament, required treatment from a trainer for a right ankle injury after the first set and appeared gimpy at times the rest of the way.
Rather than blaming the injury for his defeat, Philippoussis cited his failure to convert any of his five break-point chances and his inability to maintain a lead in each tiebreaker.
"I had the opportunities but didn't take them," Philippoussis said.
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