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Former world number one Jelena Jankovic, battling in vain to cope with searing heat, was sent tumbling out of Wimbledon by American qualifier Melanie Oudin.

In the biggest shock of the women's draw so far, the statuesque Serb could not cope with the baking conditions at the All England Club, succumbing 6-7 7-5 6-2 to the overjoyed teenager who refused to be overawed by the sixth seed.

It was a huge achievement for Oudin, playing only her third grand slam event. Dogged determination won the day for a player ranked 124 in the world and who had to fight through three rounds of the qualifying tournament just to get to Wimbledon.

The 17-year-old Oudin kept pumping herself up with cries of "Come On" and made light of her relative inexperience.

Jankovic, bidding to the reach the last 16 at Wimbledon for the fourth year in a row, never once looked at ease on a number three court that felt more like Florida than London on a scorchingly hot afternoon with temperatures near 30 Celsius.

The Serb, her first serve constantly deserting her, was fortunate to land the first set. Oudin fought back from 5-3 down, only to lose a thrilling tiebreak 10-8.

Then Jankovic called for a medical timeout at the end of the first set. She was wrapped in icepacks on her neck and legs while a doctor and a physiotherapist checked her condition.

In an equally intriguing second set, Oudin levelled the match with a feisty display of determination. Outplaying Jankovic in many interminable baseline rallies, she took the deciding set comfortably for a shock victory.

Oudin, whose idol is former world number one Justine Henin, whooped with delight and punched the air after landing the spoils on an afternoon of sun-baked drama she will never forget.

Oudin will next face Polish 11th seed Agnieszka Radwanska, who beat China's Li Na, seeded 19, 6-4 7-5.

French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova also was dumped out, losing her third round match to unseeded German Sabine Lisicki 6-2 7-5.

The Russian broke Lisicki's serve to go ahead at the start but never really seemed to get into full flow, making a string of errors to gift the world number 41 the opener in 37 minutes.

As the sky over Court One grew increasingly grey the fifth seed fought back from 5-2 down in the second, saving four match points. But Kuznetsova was ultimately outclassed by the 19-year-old, hitting the ball wide to give her opponent an unexpected win.

Lisicki, who went out in the first round on her Wimbledon debut last year, will face ninth seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark for a place in the quarter-finals.

Former Wimbledon junior champion Wozniacki reached the fourth round for the first time as the Danish teenager defeated Spain's Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2 6-2.

Former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic marched into the fourth round with a 7-5 6-2 win over Australian Samantha Stosur .

Breaking Stosur in the first game, the 13th-seeded Serbian got off to a strong start but her opponent refused to go down without a fight.

Stosur, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros earlier this month, broke back to level at 5-5 before she netted the ball to lose the first set.

Ivanovic, seeking to add a Wimbledon crown to the French Open title she won last year, dominated in the second. She surged into a 4-0 lead before sealing victory on her second match point with a powerful serve.

She will play five-times champion Venus Williams, who powered through by crushing Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro 6-0 6-4.

The 29-year-old American allowed the world number 34 a brief glimmer of hope in the second set when some uncharacteristic forehand errors crept into her game but she then pounced on her opponent's slow serve to break for 5-4.

Suarez Navarro, who knocked Williams out of the Australian Open in the second round in January, sealed her fate after one hour and 21 minutes when she hit a forehand wide.

World number one Dinara Safina sailed into the second week at Wimbledon for the first time, defeating Belgium's Kirsten Flipkens 7-5 6-1.

The Russian, three times a grand slam runner-up but never a winner, had a fight on her hands in the opening set of the third round match but overwhelmed the world number 110 in the second.

With thunder rumbling overhead, Flipkens got her only set point at 5-4 in the first which she squandered. Safina finally broke in the 11th game and served out to take a 1-0 lead.

The Russian went into overdrive as the heavens threatened to open on the new number two show court but the rain just held off and she swept to an easy 6-1 second set clincher.

Safina next faces former champion Amelie Mauresmo of France, after the 17th seed eased past 15th seed Flavia Pennetta 7-5 6-3..

Reuters