Goran Ivanisevic was born on September 13, 1971 in the Croatian city of Split. He started playing tennis at age 7, turning professional at 17. In 1988, Ivanisevic was ranked 351st, but two years later he was ranked 9th in the world. He caught the attention of tennis fans during the 1990 French Open, defeating Boris Becker in the first round and reaching the quarterfinals.
In the next 8 years, Goran played in three Wimbledon finals, each time failing to win this precious Grand Slam Trophy. In 1992, when he reached the first Wimbledon singles final, he was very close, but Andre Agassi was better in five sets. In 1994, Ivanisevic lost another final at the All-England Club, this time to defending champion Pete Sampras in straight sets. However, later that year, Goran Ivanisevic achieved his career-high singles ranking as world No. 2. He had his third chance to win Wimbledon in 1998, again facing Sampras, but lost in five sets after being in a winning position.
At that point it seemed his luck had run out. Added to that his fiery temper that caused her problems on the tennis court many times, such as breaking his rackets or cursing in his native language when he lost the point. “The problem with me is that every game I play against five opponents: referee, public, ball boy, court and myself,” he admitted.
In June 2001, Goran’s luck began to change. He was now ranked number 125, but the All-England Club decided to give him a wild card. Determined to succeed this time, he beat Andy Roddick, Marat Safin and faced Tim Henman in the semifinals. This incredible match against the ‘English last hope’ took three days due to rain interruptions, but Goran won in 5 sets.
The final match against Australian Patrick Rafter took place on Monday, allowing thousands of Croatian and Australian fans to buy tickets at the gate and enthusiastically support their favorite players. In one of the most memorable finals in Grand Slam history, 29-year-old Goran Ivanisevic finally won Wimbledon on his 14th attempt, defeating Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9. -7. He was a close shave. Goran was so nervous that he lost three championship points, but finally, on the fourth point, he slapped a service winner and the title was his. Emotionally drained, he threw himself on the grass and burst into tears, just like the rest of us cheering him on!
His title celebration took place in Goran’s hometown of Split, where more than 150,000 people gathered to welcome their beloved champion. Removing his shirt after every Wimbledon win that year became his trademark, and there, on the Split embankment, he didn’t disappoint his fans (especially the women): crazy as he was, he even stripped to the ground. underpants, throwing off his clothes in a euphoric crowd!
In 2004, three years after winning this last title, Ivanisevic retired. He won 22 ATP singles titles in total. Goran’s biggest regret remained that he never made it to world number one. How could he? Another tennis genius, Pete Sampras, was at the top of his career at the time, so it turned out to be a “mission impossible” for Goran.
He currently plays on the ATP Champions Tour, often taking part in charity matches such as the match against John McEnroe in Dubrovnik in 2010. Privately, Goran enjoys spending time with his children Amber Maria and Emanuel.
Even now, whenever he is on the tennis court, the audience does not expect to see an ordinary match. They expect a spectacular game and great entertainment. After all, as Goran once said: ‘In every game I play, there are three players in me who could emerge at any moment, Good Goran, Bad Goran and Crazy Goran. Everyone can serve aces.
