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Showing posts from February, 2017

Goran Ivanisevic: A hero for all seasons (Part 2)

The turn of the millennium signaled the business end of school for me. With the retirement of most of my favorites I no longer found the time to follow and watch tennis. But all of that was about to change with the comeback of a  hero  whom no one gave a chance. 2001 Wimbledon I had just finished school when the 2001 Wimbledon Championships rolled in. I had plenty of time on hand but had no interest in the championships as Pete Sampras the defending champion was in ominous form and with all due respect to Sampras I had no interest seeing him lift the trophy once again. Two days into Wimbledon I was extremely surprised and thrilled to know that Ivanisevic was playing in the championships on a wild card . By that point Ivanisevic had almost retired with a recurring shoulder injury. If a slump in form and fitness wasn't enough his father's heart problem and sister's cancer diagnosis pushed him to the edge. Ranked 125 in the world , his final attempt at glory was a

Goran Ivanisevic: A hero for all seasons (Part 1)

2017 Australian Open is done and dusted. Roger Federer is once again the Australian Open Champion standing tall at the end of it all. The news headlines have been talking all week about what a great comeback this is from Federer. While I agreed with them, I couldn't help but go back in time to remember the comeback of comebacks . Yes, back in the day there was a comeback made by a man who was all but forgotten. He was a fighter, a champion and a hero for all seasons . He was Goran Ivanisevic . Goran Ivanisevic I hadn't started watching tennis yet when Goran Ivanisevic (Pronounced as ee-wan-is-a-witch ) burst onto the tennis scene as a precocious teenager. The year was 1990 and Goran stamped his presence on the Wimbledon Championships when he gave three time Wimbledon Champion, Boris Becker a real scare in the semis . The next time we heard about Goran was in the 1992 Wimbledon Championships. I had only just started watching tennis in 1992 but little did I know t