Thailand's 12th seed Paradorn Srichaphan saved two match-points as he stormed back from two sets down to beat Frenchman Olivier Mutis 4-6, 1-6, 7-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the second round at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Paradorn, who beat Andre Agassi on his way to the third round last year, produced a shambolic display in the first two sets against an opponent playing only his second match at the All England Club.
Mutis was everywhere under leaden skies on court two, the traditional seeds' graveyard. The scampering Frenchman unleashed a series of winners and deft drop shots that belied his lack of experience and his 78 ranking.
But the tall Thai stole the third set on a tiebreak after a rain interruption and then saved two match-points when Mutis served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth.
The 1995 Wimbledon junior champion lost his nerve and Paradorn took full advantage by breaking twice to level the match at two sets all.
In the decider Thailand's number one made his heavy serve and greater experience count, clinching the match with a break on the first of two match points when his opponent put a backhand into the net.
Paradorn, who will play Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal next, has never reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam event.
NADAL CONTINUES TO IMPRESS ON GRASS
Spanish teenager Nadal continued to show a surprising aptitude for grasscourt play for someone of his pedigree as he ousted British wildcard Lee Childs 6-2, 6-4, 6-3.
Nadal, who at 17 is the youngest player in the men's draw, has been hailed as the latest in a long line of Spanish claycourt maestros having beaten two of them -- former French Open champions Albert Costa and Carlos Moya -- this season.
The Mallorcan, who is making his Grand Slam debut this week, looked at ease on the grass and was quick to come to the net from the start to win points with some well-placed volleys.
But it was his scything passing shots that did for the 487-ranked Briton, who was on a high after upsetting Russian 33rd seed Nikolay Davydenko in the first round.
Childs began confidently, hitting a 118-mph (189.9 kph) ace with his first serve, but the young Spaniard broke him early in the first set.
The Briton fought back in the second, which looked to be heading for a tiebreak until the local hopeful's nerves failed him in his final service game. But the 20-year-old then regrouped and broke his opponent immediately in the third set.
The twice British champion looked to have the momentum until rain halted the match when he was 3-2 up, but returned from the interruption a different player.
He capitulated immediately, twice giving up his serve to hand Nadal the match and a third-round tie against Thai Paradorn Srichaphan.
MARTIN KNOCKS OUT KUERTEN
Venerable-looking Todd Martin used his height, reach and grasscourt nous to knock three-times former French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten out 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
The grey-haired American, 33 next month and, at nearly two metres tall a master of the big serve, rarely allowed the 17th-seeded Kuerten to play his natural, graceful all-court game.
The match was interrupted briefly after the first-set tiebreak because of rain and the Brazilian, who had not played a match on grass for nearly three years, never settled afterwards.
Martin, now ranked 102 in the world but a former number four, meets German Rainer Schuettler in the third round.
FEDERER TOO GOOD
Roger Federer teamed old-fashioned wit and guile with 21st Century brawn to slice deeper into the Wimbledon draw.
The Swiss fourth seed mowed down his good friend Stefan Koubek 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 on an overcast Centre Court.
Casting off his his underachievers' reputation with each victory -- Federer has lost in the first round here three of his four previous visits -- the Swiss put on a virtuoso performance for tennis purists.
"It was great to be out there, especially with a good friend," he said. "My serve was good. Everything felt good today, good returning. I really feel like I am playing well, you know?"
That fact will not have been missed by the rest of the top of the field, but Federer is remaining level-headed.
"I know I am the highest seed left in the top half of the draw after Lleyton Hewitt lost but I don't see myself straight in the final."
Federer had to survive a half-hour rain delay before finishing and treated the slick surface gingerly.
"It was a bit slippery out there, you had to be careful," he said. "There could have been an accident.
POWERFUL SERVE
"It doesn't help, you don't feel secure. You get a little worried but it is important to forget these things."
His powerful serve left Koubek flapping at thin air while his unfurled backhand was a thing of delight, confounding the Austrian at every turn.
Next up for the stylish Swiss is 45th-ranked Mardy Fish.
Fish scaled new heights at Wimbledon earlier on an outside court, ousting fellow American Jan-Michael Gambill 6-4, 6-4, 6-1.
The 1-year-old had never won a match at the All England Club before this year and his victory on court 11 matches the best grand slam performance of his career.
Fish, a runner-up on grass at Nottingham last week, used slice to great effect to finally beat Gambill, who had won the pair's previous three matches.
Ninth seed Rainer Schuettler also advanced smoothly. The German, a surprise finalist at the Australian Open in January, beat Frenchman Fabrice Santoro 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
