TENNIS WIMBLEDON CHAMPIONSHIPS:THERE IS only one way for a diva to leave the stage and that's in tears. So Wimbledon bade adieu to last year's French Open winner and the former world number one, Ana Ivanovic. This time there were no bouquets as the young Serb dropped her first set to a heavily-taped Venus Williams, 6-1, before retiring injured after the first game of the second set.

“I don’t even know the last time that I had these circumstances. I don’t think ever in a slam,” said Williams.

Ivanovic must have still been in mild shock when she came in as she felt that the 6-1 first set was a little flattering for the third seed.

Although that view wasn’t generally shared, her performance prior to the thigh injury – which was clearly not her fault – generates more questions about the 21-year-old’s ability to be seriously considered as a future championship winner.

All of this is timely enough as it was reported yesterday that the Wimbledon committee admitted good looks are a factor when they chose which female tennis players play on Centre Court. It’s an astounding admission if true and Ivanovic was on Court One, not Centre. That was occupied by Dinara Safin and Amelie Mauresmo, who became the first players to play in the championships under the new roof.

But just as questions about Ivanovic’s tennis are on hold, she also dodged the cuties on Centre Court issue. “It’s very hard for them to chose, I think,” she said lamely.

Her defeat was far from shocking. The 27-year-old Venus Williams has been dominant from the beginning this year and like her sister, Serena, has not dropped a set so far.

It is now becoming increasingly difficult not to see them both in the final again as Serena also won her match, beating Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-1.

Maybe there is a glimmer on the horizon that her next opponent, Victoria Azarenka, might provide enough youth, energy and big-game fight to stir the quarter-final pot more vigorously.

The 19-year-old Bulgarian eighth seed took care of Nadia Petrova to earn her crack at Williams, who has beaten her and lost to her – Williams won in Australia after Azarenka had defeated Williams in Miami.

“Well, she’s obviously a good player and she’s really young,” said the unerringly confident and this time gracious Williams.

“She has nothing to lose. This is Wimbledon. I feel the same way. When you are playing the girls that are really young, they want it as bad as I want it. It always makes for a good fight.”

Fourth seed Elena Dementieva advanced and remains under the radar after defeating her Russian compatriot Elena Vesnina 6-1, 6-3 while the upset of the day took place away from most people’s eye line when the unseeded German, Sabine Lisicki, took the scalp of Caroline Wozniacki, the Danish teenager tipped to make a bigger dent in the draw.

There was some racquet banging and tortured screams as the 18-year-old slipped away too easily if not quietly 6-4, 6-4 to a player 32 places below her in the world rankings. Big-serving Lisicki, who is just 19, was two points away from losing her round one match before she turned it around. She is seen as the most exciting player to come out of Germany since Steffi Graf. “Yes I know Steffi in person. I’ve met her. She’s a big idol,” said Lisicki, who meets top seed Dinara Safin.

The battling Russian came back from a set down to level the match before dropping 3-0 in the third set.

But again she resurrected herself against the nervous Mauresmo to clinch a quarter-final place 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.