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Welcome to the Goran Ivanisevic Articles Section. We've got a huge rage of articles from 1990 to 2002.
&glt; Articles from 1990
You can get more Goran Ivanisevic Articles here: http://www.goranonline.com
Lipton 1990 - Goran Ivanisevic roared and spun around in a circle, gored by the invisible bull. It was the third straight call in the third set that had gone against him. ...
Before and after Wimbledon - the inside story of how Ivanisevic prepared for glory by taking a month off from tennis to watch his favourite football team. Next season, he'll play for them
On Sunday, 27 May Pete Sampras loosened up on the practice courts in Paris on the eve of the French Open; Tim Henman made his final preparations for his perennial but short-lived battle with clay and Pat Rafter relaxed in the French capital before contemplating another - possibly final - tilt at Roland Garros. Goran Ivanisevic was nowhere to be found.
That's because he was 800 miles away in the middle of what must be the most unusual preparations for a Grand Slam in the history of professional tennis: a month off to spend at home, or on his boat, watch football and forget about tennis. Normally he spends only two months a year in Split, and only 10 days in the summer. This year was different. 'The best relax of my life,' he called it.
This was his longest break since he first qualified for Wimbledon, aged 16, in 1988. The man who had lost three finals, two to Pete Sampras and one to Andre Agassi, would be ready for one last hurrah in SW19 - provided the organisers gave him a wild-card entry.
On that Sunday, Ivanisevic was in Croatia travelling with fellow Hajduk Split football fans to a vital match against Varteks in Varazdin. The Croatian title depended on it. Tennis was the last thing on the mind of Ivanisevic, a lifelong Hajduk fan. He was determined to enjoy himself with his friends, eschewing the offer of a VIP seat at Varteks' ground to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with 6,000 travelling fans.
The journey was worthwhile. A 4-2 win secured the championship for the first time in six years and the fans from Split danced on the pitch with joy. The moment stirred something in Ivanisevic. 'God, it would be great if I won Wimbledon,' he said, 'and made something like this happen for me.'
His wish - was it a prayer? - was granted. Six weeks later Ivanisevic and those fans, plus scores of thousands more besides, were dancing again when another title came home to Split. The whole country, it seemed, came to a standstill and 150,000 were on the streets to greet him and to party with him. Goran Ivanisevic, Wimbledon champion, was home. 'Thank you for believing in me,' Goran told the multitude. 'I will remember these two days for the rest of my life. We are only 300,000 in Split but we are the biggest in the world. Brazil? Not even Brazil can make something like this.'