Gritty Ivanovic hangs on as countryman Djokovic goes home

To borrow from Jim Mora, the former NFL coach, we think we know, but we don't know and we never will know. The Patriots lose the Super Bowl. The Lakers lose the NBA Finals. Novak Djokovic loses to a guy who hasn't been past the third round in 13 other tournaments this year.

A guy the 21-year-old Djokovic considered one of his idols. A guy who has a reputation for inconsistency. A guy who dislikes playing on the grass at Wimbledon as much as he likes partying with his pals from Russia.

"He's known for his mental instability in some ways," Djokovic said of the 28-year-old Safin. "But he's still a great player. I'm tired mentally. But I'm not tired physically. That's not the explanation why I lost."

After reaching the semis of the recent French Open, winning the Australian Open and getting to the final of the 2007 U.S. Open, where he ran into Roger Federer, Djokovic couldn't even reach the end of the first week of the '08 Wimbledon.

Ivanovic, Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic were kids in Belgrade in the late 1990s when the NATO forces conducted air raids against the government of Slobodan Milosevic. Ivanovic went to Switzerland, Djokovic to Germany and Jankovic, second-seeded here, to Florida and Nick Bollettieri's academy.

They are mentally tough, and if that didn't help Djokovic -- sometimes, like a 20-game winning pitcher who can't find the plate, you just don't have it -- the resilience helped Ana on Wednesday.

"I think what helped me win was a fighting spirit," she said.

What also helped her win was that, when she was down 4-5 in the second set, her forehand clipped the top of the net and appeared to go straight up. If it stays on Ana's side, Dechy wins the match. If it falls on Dechy's side, Ana stays alive.

"My heart skipped a beat," said Ivanovic. "Once it went on her side, I thought of the match as my second chance."

You've read it before. You've heard it before. The great ones make their own fortune. When the moment occurs, they're ready. Ana Ivanovic was ready.

And why not? She won the French Open last month. When you grow up hiding from a war, you're ready for anything. And everything.

"I had to try to hang in there and look for opportunities," Ivanovic said. "Today was harder. I had to fight for each point. She deserved to win because she played so well. But in the end we both had chances. It was just who was going to hang in there longer."

That was Ana. When the final shot was struck, she walked over and kissed the net where it attaches to the post.

"If it wasn't for that net, I would be booking my flight home."

Like Novak Djokovic.