Ivanovic in shock Melbourne exit
 Ivanovic has been struggling for form since the middle of last season |
Fifth seed Ana Ivanovic was woefully out of sorts as she was beaten by the 29th seed Alisa Kleybanova in the Australian Open third round.
The Serbian 2008 runner-up dropped serve nine times and made 50 unforced errors on route to a 5-7 7-6 2-6 loss.
World number one Jelena Jankovic booked her place in the last 16 with a 6-4 6-4 win over Japan's Ai Sugiyama.
Third seed Dinara Safina and Jelena Dokic are also through after wins over Kaia Kanepi and Caroline Wozniacki.
Kleybanova's victory over Ivanovic is the second major shock of the women's draw in two days, following on from Venus Williams exit yesterday at the hands of Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro.
Serbian Ivanovic has struggled for form, particularly with her serve, for the last six months and showed no signs of cohesion.
The French Open champion got off to a decent start in the opening set but at 5-3 she somehow conspired to lose the next four games.
Still shell-shocked she then found herself three games down in the second set but fought back to steal it on a tie-break.
This was only a minor highlight for the 21-year-old to savour though as the free-hitting Kleybanova broke early on in the deciding set and sealed victory to set up a clash with Dokic in the fourth round.
"We both played great tennis and I really enjoyed the crowd over three sets," said Kleybanova. "I'm happy to win because I was able to play my best tennis today."
Jankovic took one hour 41 minutes to complete a battling win over 26th seed Sugiyama, who was playing in a record 59th consecutive Grand Slam main draw.
The 33-year-old went down a break early in the opening set and was always chasing the match from then on in.
Jankovic broke her opponent's serve again in the seventh game when the Japanese player fired a cross court backhand wide but then failed to hold her own serve as Sugiyama clawed her way back to 5-4.
 | Finally I played my game and, compared to my first two matches, I reached my level Dinara Safina |
Sugiyama then appeared to lose her concentration when she disputed a late line call and subsequent challenge on Jankovic's serve, believing the point should have been replayed rather than going to the Serb.
She was over-ruled by umpire Mariana Alves and from 30-0 up she lost the game and the set.
The second set went with serve until Sugiyama was broken in the seventh game.
She called for a medical time out, had her calves iced and complained of breathing difficulties but returned to see out the match.
Jankovic will now face Marion Bartoli in round four.
Bartoli, the 16th seed, looked in serious trouble when she lost the first set of her match against Lucie Safarova.
But the 2007 Wimbledon finalist launched an impressive fightback to come through and set up a fourth round match against Jankovic or Sugiyama.
 Jankovic is searching for her first Grand Slam title |
Safina, who had never been past the second round at Melbourne Park, wrapped up her 6-2 6-2 victory over Kanepi in one hour and six minutes.
Next up for the Russian is 15th seed Alize Cornet of France after she beat Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova 4-5 6-4 6-2.
Safina struggled through her opening two matches but hit top form to beat Kanepi and lay down a marker for the rest of the tournament.
If she wins the Australian Open she will replace Jankovic as world number one.
"Finally I played my game and, compared to my first two matches, I reached my level," said Safina.
"From now I have to play like this or even better every day because it tougher and tougher openings coming up, but I'm really happy that I won in two sets."
In a thrilling encounter in a pumped up Rod Laver Arena Australian Dokic continued her fairytale run with a thrilling 3-6 6-1 6-2 win over Wozniacki.
With the backing of the home crowd and on a wave of public sympathy for her past problems Dokic produced an impressive display full of spirit and endeavour to eliminate Dane Wozniacki, ranked 175 places above her in the world.
Wozniacki claimed the vital points to win the first set but Dokic showed in the later games glimpses of what was to come.
The 25-year-old took a firm grasp of the match from the beginning of the second set, breaking twice to claim it and level the match, and never let go.
She broke Wozniacki again in the first game of the third set and gave herself the luxury of serving out the match by breaking again in the seventh.
"I tried not to think about victory until I had match point," said Dokic afterwards. "That got me through the last game."
"I'm sorry for being a pain," she told the crowd, who cheered her wildly throughout. "I know I've been difficult at times and I want to apologise for that."
Nadia Petrova became the first woman to reach the fourth round when Galina Voskoboeva of Kazakhstan retired with a back injury at 6-1 0-0 in the Russian's favour.
Petrova, seeded 10, will play compatriot and seventh seed Vera Zvonareva, who looked in top form as she swept to a 6-4 6-1 win against Italy's Sara Errani.
In the women's doubles, British number one Anne Keothavong and her partner Mervana Jugic-Salkic went down 6-1 6-2 to seventh seeds Maria Kirilenko and Flavia Pennetta in round two.
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