Many-sided Goran grabs win9 January 2002
By Jenni Rutherford at Stanley Street
New Zealand got their first taste of Goran Ivanisevic's other half on Wednesday exposed to his renowned bad boy behaviour when he threw his racket and hit balls out of the court to vent his anger. However Ivanisevic produced some stellar shots to put a smile back on his face by the end of the match.
Ivanisevic advanced to the quarterfinals of the Heineken Open winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 against 19-year-old Mikhail Youzhny, the furthest he has progressed in the tournament.
The match was a drawn out affair with two rain delays causing it to last nearly four hours although only 1 hour 40 minutes was spent on court.
An unrelenting Youzhny broke the second seed in the opening point and was unfazed by the booming server who struggled to convert points into game winners.
The first set was a mix of the sublime and the horrible, with two particularly unbelievable shots from the Croatian accompanied with some ordinary mistakes and Youzhny shine.
"I hit a couple of unbelievable shots, I don't know how I hit them. My volley was unbelievable," he said.
A backhand behind his back and a volley from an almost dead ball won Ivanisevic valuable points and the appreciation of the audience.
Ivanisevic recovered from his first up falter to hold serve for the remainder of the set. He was a picture of calm compared with his next set despite feeling in the command of the match he lost his temper firing a ball out of the court after losing a point earning a warning from the umpire. Rackets also hit the ground as shots went askew.
Ivanisevic, a veteran of wet weather waits, was bored but remained calmed during his two, hour long breaks sitting in the locker room. He used the second stoppage to cool off after the fiery second set and finished off the game with ease.
"There was more pressure on him, after the second break (for rain). He was thinking, I have him I can do this or that, it's one set-all it's going to be tougher," he said.
And it was.
The world no.12 found his serve and aced his way through the final set winning 6-3. The Russian teen was on the receiving end of six of Ivanisevic's 14 aces in the third set.
So far the second seed's injured shoulder has held up and he is confident it won't trouble him for the quarterfinals on Thursday where will play with Greg Rusedski or Michal Tabara. When rain halted play Tabara was leading 7-5, but Rusedski had broken him in the first set for a 1-0 advantage.
The sun came out for the third set and Ivanisevic's jovial mood returned. He took his time in the final game wasting four match points before sealing the game.
"I enjoyed it. I had some laughs and some racket throws so everything was there - all the aspects of my character," he said.
TENNIS ACE GORAN IS TO MARRY HIS MODEL GIRLFRIEND
18 December 2001
HE IS the lovably eccentric outsider whose dark good looks captured a million hearts when he stormed to victory at Wimbledon.
But today we have bad news for the army of female fans who admired heartthrob Croatian Goran Ivanisevic for more than his tennis skills.
The Centre Court champ is to marry his fiancee, model Tatjana Dragovic.
The news emerged as Goran, 30, and Tatjana attended a parade in which the multi-millionaire tennis hero paraded in his new guise as the most famous new recruit to the Croatian army.
As he took the national oath of allegiance after two weeks of basic training Goran announced: "Yes, I am going to be married".
The romantic declaration unfolded as Hare Krishna follower Tatjana, 21, stood proudly with Goran's father Srdjan watching their boy take part in a half-hour military parade. The uniformed spectacle took place at the Borongaj army barracks in Zagreb - where Goran is fulfilling his compulsory six months National Service.
But just like Elvis Presley and his army spell in the early 60s, Goran will be no ordinary GI Joe.
He is being allowed to spend time on his luxury yacht and return home to his exclusive apartment every night.
And while he is there at the crack of dawn square bashing with the rest of them - as well as joining his fellow recruits for the less-than-fantastic food - by 11am he is on the practice court.
Goran said: "I am doing well in the army and am having no problems with tennis practice, either. They let me go whenever I need to."
Goran added that he is "having no troubles shooting rifles and guns. To be honest, though, I am better at taking a Kalashnikov to pieces than putting it together again."
He was giving no clue as to when the wedding might be, although his dad said: "It's time he settled down."
After he overcame all the odds this year to beat Pat Rafter and stormed to the championship, Goran danced the night away in an evening of celebrations.
Ironically Tatjana, wasn't there and he was controversially photographed boogying on down with Slavica Ecclestone, wife of Formula One boss Bernie.
But clearly it was always Tatjana that Goran loved.
Game, set and love match
Soldier Ivanisevic pledges to protect homeland15 December 2001
Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic pledged to defend his homeland Croatia with his life on Saturday, while taking oath as a soldier for a compulsory six-month service.
"I will defend and protect my country at the price of my life," a solemn Ivanisevic, clad in military uniform, shouted together with several hundred new soldiers lined up on a freezing morning in a Zagreb barracks.
"It was great, a great honour, though a bit cold," he told journalists after the admission ceremony.
"The army will allow me to follow my plans, go away and play tournaments," he said, adding he sought no other privileges. "I do everything other soldiers do, wait in line for food and all."
The 30-year old will lead Croatia in their Davis Cup tie against Germany in February. "It's going to be tough, although we have a slight advantage of playing at home," he said.
While still coming to terms with the military life he started with a two-week basic drill near his Adriatic hometown Split in November, the towering Croat said he liked the food but had no talent for weapons.
"I can dissemble an AK-47 (semi-automatic gun), but assemble it back together, phew, no way," he laughed.
Ivanisevic was formally drafted in September as a member of a sports squad, after passing a fitness test where he complained of poor eyesight which has forced him to consider wearing lenses.
But all in all, "this was absolutely the best year of my life".
Ivanisevic beat Patrick Rafter to win his first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon in July, after ending as the tournament's runner-up three times in the past decade.
Ivanisevic, who ended the year as 13th in the world, has said he aims to ignore shoulder pain and play for two more years before retiring.