Stuff of dreams: The Ivanisevic story

9^th July 2001, Wimbledon: It was hardly anything like the type of crowd you’d expect at a Wimbledon final- younger and noisier than usual. There was singing, chanting, cheers and jeers after double-faults; flags, painted faces, inflated kangaroos and clown hats; a kaleidoscope in centre court! To top it all off, they were treated to a match as dramatic as they come. The staid tournament had never witnessed anything like this before. The runner-up from last year, Pat Rafter, against 3 time runner-up, Goran Ivanisevic.

The Croatian came into the tournament as a wildcard, owing to his previous oh-so-nearly moments in the past, ranked 125^th in the world. A shoulder injury had hampered his career for the last 18 months. But on his 14^th try, he finally got his hands on the Big W, blossoming on his favourite grass surface. And what a match it was! 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 read the final score. “It’s the greatest final I’ve ever been a part of.” said NBC commentator John McEnroe, whose 5 set loss to Borg in 1980 is still considered to be one of the greatest finals of the modern era.

Rain had interrupted Saturday’s schedule, so the final was played on a Monday, hence the younger crowd who snapped up the 10,000 tickets made available 2 and a half hours before the start of play. The atmosphere was like that of a football match. The crowd was even, so was the match. Rafter recovered after a slow start and the game went right down to the wire. The last set was tied at 7-7. Rafter missed 4 first serves and Ivanisevic hit 3 lovely returns, the third a winner at 15-40. And at 8-7, he found himself serving for the match.

A blown volley and 2 double faults left him trailing at 15-30. Then 2 monster serves and it was match point. Tears welled up in his eyes, his fragile psyche frayed by 3 hours of gruelling tennis and a decade of heart-wrenching frustration at Wimbledon. Another double fault was followed by a service winner and it was match point again. Then came his 16^th double fault of the game – the final one. Rafter hit his backhand wide on the next point and Goran looked to the skies in gratitude. But a shaky volley brought the score back to deuce. And then the most feared service in tennis bailed him out. His record breaking 213^th ace of the tournament was followed by a serve that had Rafter stretching. The return dumped into the net and victory was his. He fell in a heap of disbelief and rolled over. His face buried in the Centre Court lawn that had bedevilled him for so long.

He ran up the stadium aisle to the VIP box to hug his father and coach. When he stepped onto the broadcasting booth, his grin was as wide as his outstretched arms. The crowd renewed the ‘Go-ran! Go-ran!’ chants. “I think I’m dreaming,” said Ivanisevic, in somewhat amusing mangled English. “Somebody is going to wake me up and tell me, ‘Man, you didn’t win.’”

By winning his first and only Grand Slam, the Croat became the first, and to date only player to win the tournament as a wildcard entrant.

“I don’t care now if I ever win a match in my life again,” he continued. “Whatever I do in my life, wherever I go, I’m always going to be Wimbledon champion.”