Goran Ivanisevic defeated teenage American Andy Roddick 7-6 7-5 3-6 6-3 to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon today.
Ivanisevic, three times a Wimbledon finalist, seems to have shrugged off the shoulder injury that has hampered his tennis over the last two years.
In the first set, Ivanisevic registered 14 aces to Roddick’s nine. Appropriately, the Croatian won the tiebreak 7-5 with an ace.
In the second set, Ivanisevic fired down 10 more aces and lost just one point on his serve.
Roddick, who played his first game on grass only two weeks ago, was finally rewarded for his persistence when he broke Ivanisevic's serve in the sixth game of the third set. It had taken him 80 minutes to get his first break point.
In an engrossing fourth set, the two powered away until the eighth game when young Roddick's resistance crumbled.
Roddick saved two match points but Ivansiveic beat him with another ace after one hour and 55 minutes of thrilling tennis.
Ivanisevic’s opponent in the next round will be Britain's Greg Rusedski who beat eight seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1 6-4 6-4.