Skip to main content

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 then that Goran's life and career would run parallel with Wimbledon for the next decade. Wimbledon would be the site of his lows but would also play the center stage for probably the greatest comeback ever in sports history.

Wimbledon 1992

The world had changed by the time of the 1992 Wimbledon Championships. The Berlin Wall had come down, USSR and Yugoslavia had fallen apart and in tennis a new era was about to dawn. Ivanisevic represented Yugoslavia in the 1990 Championships but come 1992 he was carrying the hopes of the young nation of Croatia (which had just gained its independence from Yugoslavia) and he didn't disappoint. He stormed into the finals after beating Stefan Edberg (the 1990 Wimbledon Champion) in the quarters and steam rolling Sampras (who had beaten 1991 Wimbledon Champion Michael Stich) in the semis. I took an immediately liking to Ivanisevic's big serve and cool and calm demeanor and rooted for him to become the 1992 Wimbledon Champion. Ivanisevic's opponent in the final was Andre Agassi. Considering Agassi never fancied himself on grass, Ivanisevic was expected to easily win but Tennis makes a mockery of such expectations and predictions. 

Ivanisevic won the first set and then gave away the next two sets. He gave Agassi the beating of his life in the 4th set. With two sets a piece Ivanisevic headed into the 5th set with all the momentum in the world but at a crucial point in the match double faulted twice to lose his serve and gift wrap the championship to Agassi ( 6–7(8–10), 6–4, 6–4, 1–6, 6–4). Even in defeat, Goran Ivanisevic was unarguably the bigger man congratulating Agassi on his first slam victory. I was disappointed but considering he played so well I hoped to see him win a grand slam soon.   

A match he should have won!

Wimbledon 1994

After a forgettable 1993, Ivanisevic found his rhythm in 1994 and reached the Wimbledon finals once again by squashing Boris Becker (the man who beat him in 1990). His opponent in the final was none other than the defending champion and world No.1 Pete Sampras. I wasn't supporting Ivanisevic this time as he had beaten my favorite Boris Becker in the semis and I wanted Sampras to exact revenge (that's what little kids do when their favorite players get beaten, they route for the opponent). Experts on the other hand expected a humdinger of a contest considering the fact that both players were big servers and had previously exchanged victories over each another but once again the game eked out it's own trajectory. After losing the first two sets narrowly in tie breaks, Ivanisevic's serve unraveled completely in the 3rd set. Sampras not one to miss out on an opportunity capitalized and handed Ivanisevic his 2nd defeat (7–6(7–2), 7–6(7–5), 6–0) in 2 finals. Although I didn't support Ivanisevic at that time I couldn't help but feel bad for him during the awards presentation. He had narrowly lost the first one and was totally wiped out in the second. If only he played the big points well he would have been the 1994 Wimbledon Champion. I once again hoped that there would be a third time to take what was rightfully his.

1995-1997

Ivanisevic's tennis took a back step for the next few years but he did develop a colorful personality (see the video below). The cool and calm demeanor gave way to a boisterous personality which seemed to take on everyone from the opponent to the chair umpire. Yet for all of his tantrums he still looked a school boy who was more angry with himself than anyone else. The fight within slowed his progress and prolonged the wait for respect and acceptance from the general public. With regards to tennis there was the odd semi-final appearance (at Wimbledon in 1995) where he once again troubled Sampras but nothing went far enough to turn into championship gold. Wimbledon 1996 where all the top seeds including Sampras fell by the wayside was a missed opportunity as Ivanisevic was himself knocked out in the quarters after a lackluster effort. Come 1997, Ivanisevic's game slipped even further as he was knocked out in the 2nd round of his favorite tournament. Things seemed bleak but I still had hope. If there was someone who could step up and halt Sampras' run it had to be Goran.

Ivanisevic teaches the chair umpire to pronounce his name


Wimbledon 1998

Sometimes a change in appearance also signifies in a change in performance. 2 years of sub-par results seemed to have reignited Ivanisevic's thirst for gold as he took to Wimbledon like a long haired messiah and made quick work of the competition.  His opponent in the semis was the 1996 Wimbledon Champion Richard Krajicek. Ivanisevic seemed to have the match won (after winning the first two sets) but let Krajicek come up back and take the next two. The fifth set seemed to go on forever but when Krajicek made an unforced error, Ivanisevic ended up in his 3rd Wimbledon final (6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-7, 15-13) . This time around I had high hopes for Goran. He had beaten Sampras before (1992 Wimbledon Semis), he was 26, he had the experience of being in the finals and had shown tremendous mental strength in overcoming Krajicek. Surely nothing could go wrong this time, it had to be 3rd time lucky. 

I watched the 1998 final along with my father and both of us hoped to see Ivanisevic win. For the first hour and half of the match, Goran thrilled us with his play. He took the first set, outgunned Sampras for the most part in the second before..... losing the second set tiebreak and handing over the momentum to Sampras. Sampras not one to slow down took the third and things were going down the familiar path. Unable to see Goran go down, I wanted to switch the channels but just then something happened. Sensing defeat, Goran unleashed his devastating forehands and broke Sampras' serve to take the the fourth set. When the fifth set began we hoped that Goran would continue his impetus but it was Sampras who came back like a wounded tiger and before we knew he broke Goran's serve and resolve to take the match ( 6–7(2–7), 7–6(11–9), 6–4, 3–6, 6–2). Neither me nor my father could believe how quickly the match turned. Goran cut a sorry figure during the presentation and looked as though someone knocked the life force out of him. 92 was close, 94 was a lost opportunity but 98 was the real heart break, He dominated the match for the most part yet allowed it to slip. Would there be one more chance? This time even I wasn't sure. 


A picture of despair with 1998 Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras

Wimbledon 2000

At the millennium championships, Ivanisevic lost in the first round. A shoulder injury and problems at home had sent his career on the downward spiral and losing in the 1st round of his favorite championship was as low as it could get. There was a silver lining to the cloud however in the form of parade of champions which was organized as part of the millennium championships to honour past champions. Even though he had never won the tournament, Ivanisevic was invited to be part of the ceremony and received a crystal plate for his contributions. When I saw Ivanisevic amongst the champions I was both thrilled as well as sad. Sad that he would be retiring soon without ever having won the tournament he so loved but thrilled that he wasn't walking away into the sunset without being recognized for his efforts. I silently thanked him for all the memories and thought that this would be the last time I would see him on the Wimbledon Centre Court but little did I know then that the last and the best chapter was yet to come.


The Parade of Champions

To be Continued Soon...

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular Posts

Mahabharata by C.Rajagopalachari

There are books which you read and then there are books which make you read them and change your life. Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari's (Rajaji's) Mahabharata belongs to the latter category. Mahabharata introduced me to the joy of reading books as a kid and today I couldn't have picked a better topic for my 25th post. I cannot describe what a pleasure and honor it is to extol the virtues of this classic book during this holy festive season of  Makar Sankranti . Mahabharata by C.Rajagopalachari The story of Mahabharata is as old as the mountains and has been retold several times. Mahabharata by Rajaji however stands out in my mind because here is a story which is spiritual yet not religious, is thought provoking yet not preachy, is compelling yet not tedious. The story left an indelible impression upon me for several reasons which are: Rajaji uses extremely simple language to convey some of the finer aspects of the saga. I was 10 years old when I read Mahabharata
7 comments
Read more

KBR National Park

In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the fifth largest city in India - Hyderabad lies KBR (Kasu Brahmananda Reddy) National Park . It's difficult to imagine a natural habitat in the center of a concrete jungle but that's exactly what KBR park is - an oasis in middle of an urban desert . One of Hyderabad's prized tourist attractions which in my opinion doesn't get the attention it deserves. The Entrance I don't remember when I first noticed the park but it soon became a sight which I couldn't miss during the course of my everyday commute to work. I always wondered what lay beyond the entrance but never found the time to check it out for myself until last year. But let me back up a bit, there's a back story to my first visit to the park. In my ' Count Your Blessings ' post, I talked about how a walk around my office building started a positive change in my life. That incident made ' walking ' a fixture in my everyday ro
21 comments
Read more

Zamarrud Theatre Hyderabad

More than two decades ago a 5 year old boy (yours truly) found himself in Abids which was certainly then the microcosm of Hyderabad. Abids in the 80s <Courtesy: OkaTeluguAbbayi > The occasion was a family outing to Zamarrud Cinema. And we are stepping out for not just any movie my friends, my parents decided that nothing less than the Raj Kapoor blockbuster Chori Chori was good enough for us. To be honest I wasn't exactly enthused about watching a black and white film of a bygone era even though the movie had all the credentials of a classic. But that was before I saw Zamarrud, the theatre where the movie was being played. Nested in the heart of Abids, Zamarrud was the perfect amalgamation of Hyderabad's old world charm and new fangled ways. Zamarrud was not just any theatre, it was one of the first air conditioned halls in Hyderabad, a premiere cinema hall which used to host the best of what the film industry had to offer and the place to go for Hyderabad'
6 comments
Read more

Chhatrapati Shivaji Biography - Challenging Destiny by Medha Deshmukh-Bhaskaran

I guess it was destiny that the 150th post of Life Etc Etc had to be about Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Shivaji rose like a phoenix from humble beginnings in the 17th century and laid the foundation for the Maratha empire which changed the course of  history. The history I studied at school restricted his life and achievements to a single chapter and quite erroneously credited the British Rule with the decline of the Mughal empire. I found out later on that it was in fact the Marathas under the able leadership of Shivaji who hastened the Mughal empire's downfall. They were the preeminent power whom the British had to checkmate in order to wrest control of the Indian subcontinent. Despite such monumental achievements my history syllabi had very little information about Shivaji. It was therefore a no-brainer for me to pick up this book and discover for myself why the history of India would never be complete without the mention of Shivaji.  In order to understand any historical c
Post a Comment
Read more

Black Eagle (1988)

I have a soft corner in my heart for the action films of the eighties . I am also a huge fan of movies where stars are cast against type ( see Vera Cruz ). So, when I got a chance to watch 1988's  Black Eagle  pitting international action star Jean-Claude Van Damme as the 'villain' against acclaimed martial arts guru Sho Kosugi ,   I just couldn't let it pass by. Black Eagle 1988 Plot When a US F-111 jet carrying a laser tracking device goes missing in the Mediterranean, agent Ken Tani (Sho Kosugi) code-named ' Black Eagle ' is summoned to retrieve the device before the Soviet KGB acquires it. Ken unwillingly lands in Malta and is immediately targeted by Soviet Agent Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme). Will Ken acquire the tracking device? Who wins? (Guess that answer is obvious!) The Cliches Cliches are the life and soul of action movies. When you have a martial arts movie in the spy genre those cliches only double. So here are all the noteworthy cli
3 comments
Read more