Goran's day at Wimbledon

Playing against all odds, Goran Ivanisevic bags the Wimbledon trophy and proves that perseverance pays.

ONE of the most extraordinary Wimbledon championships of all time climaxed last fortnight amidst soccer-stadium-like scenes of emotional outpouring in the oldest and most famous tennis stadium in the world, with a 125-1 outsider crowned the new men's champion on what is popularly known as People's Monday.

Goran Ivanisevic's spectacular five-set victory over Pat Rafter in a final that was the best witnessed on the famous grass court in 20 years was a fitting end to a tournament that featured one of the most eventful men's championships in the long history of Wimbledon.

Although the All England Lawn Tennis Club has had to extend the championship before to the third Monday because of the famously fickle English weather, this was the first time that a men's final was actually scheduled for that day. Perhaps electrified by the atmosphere on the centre court the 29-year-old Croatian, who became the first wild card to win a Grand Slam championship, and the 28-year-old Australian served up a wonderful treat.

The women's event, for once, rode piggyback on the men's championship and, in terms of dramatic twists, had very little to offer as Venus Williams extended her lease on the famous Venus Rosewater Dish, beating the gifted little Belgian Justine Henin in the final.

Then again, overall, Wimbledon 2001 was an event that matched the very best in the tournament's history not only for drama, and the unpredictable turns that were witnessed, but, rather more significantly, for the sheer quality of tennis on view in the men's championship. If Dan Maskell, the greatest Wimbledon commentator, were alive, he would have exclaimed in his patented style: "Ooh, I say... that was truly extraooordinary!"

From the beginning until the end, from the day Martina Hingis, the top seed in the women's event, was knocked out by Virginia Ruano Pascual of Spain to the moment Rafter scooped a forehand return into the net to find Ivanisevic prostrate on the court with his tears falling on the thick blades of grass, this was a thrill-a-minute Wimbledon that featured many firsts.

Several commentators have hailed this year's championship as the beginning of a new era, especially in the men's game. Actually, it would be more appropriate to describe it as the end of a glorious era at Wimbledon as Pete Sampras' eight-year domination - a marvellous period during which he won a record seven titles - was brought to an end by Roger Federera, a 19-year old Swiss star.

Sampras' fourth round exit - it was the first time that he lost a five-set match in Wimbledon - threw the men's championship wide open, and every single player left in the draw began to believe that it was his big chance to win the most coveted title in the sport.

The whole of Britain, of course, saw Sampras' loss as a huge opportunity for Tim Henman - who was twice beaten by the great man in the semi-finals in the past - to become the first Englishman to win the title since Fred Perry triumphed for a third time in 1936. And Henman looked the part too for a few days as he saw off Sampras' conqueror, Federer, in the quarter-finals with high-quality tennis at crucial moments in the match and then came from behind to open up what looked like a winning lead against Ivanisevic in the semi-finals.

But, as luck would have it, weather intervened. With Henman leading Ivanisevic by two sets to one and looking set to close out the match in four sets, rain halted play. What is more, the next day, Ivanisevic, still looking rather shaky at the net and in the return games, managed to take the fourth set on the sheer strength of his serve. But the match was once again interrupted by rain in the decider.

Finally, as the contest moved into a third day, the Croatian peaked at just the right moment to race into the final past a crestfallen Henman. "It is pretty disappointing. I had the upper hand on the first day. But there is not much you can do about the weather. He just came out playing his best tennis today," said Henman. "But in my heart I still believe I shall win this championship."

Disappointing? That was classic English understatement. For this certainly looked to be a year when things seemed to be falling in place for Henman before rain ruined his run in the championship.

NOT surprisingly, several English newspapers began to advocate the need for a roof over the centre court. "Wimbledon should not let rain ruin the tennis," said The Times in an editorial the next morning. "All coaches, commentators and most of the crowd also believe that Britain's hope was defeated by Britain's weather. The rain that waters the most famously velvet grass in the world also disrupts, year on year, the world's most celebrated tennis championship." The Times said that it was time the All England Club put a retractable roof - as is available in Melbourne Park, the venue of the Australian Open in January - over the centre court.

A roof would have probably helped steer Henman into the final but, as Ivanisevic was to point out later, this championship was all about one man's destiny. "God wanted me to win. God sent the rain. It is my destiny to win here this year. I have carried that plate (the trophy for the runner up) three times. I don't want that anymore. I want to win," said the Croat after beating Henman in five sets.

Surely, the belief must have first taken root in Ivanisevic's mind when he saw Sampras, that peerless champion who was his nemesis in Wimbledon, pack his bags. In the last nine years, Sampras has twice beaten Ivanisevic in the finals and once in the semi-finals. "With Pete gone, it's anybody's championship now," said Ivanisevic, who came into the tournament with a world ranking of 125. The Croatian requested the Tournament Committee for a wild card since his ranking was not good enough to get him in directly. He was given one. But he hardly looked like someone who would make good use of it as he crashed out in the first round of the Queen's Club event two weeks before the start of Wimbledon.

And the famous English bookmakers Ladbrokes and William Hill did not even publicise odds for Ivanisevic when the tournament began. It was only late in the second week, when sportswriters called them to check where the Croat might have started with the bookies that it came to light that Ivanisevic opened at 125-1. "I came out of nowhere to win this. If I don't want to play again, I don't play. This is the end of the world," said an ecstatic Ivanisevic after his epic 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 defeat of Rafter in three hours and one minute.

Ivanisevic's final success had a lot to do with his own expectations of himself. The gifted left-hander with the most feared serve in the game - he broke his own 1992 tournament record of 206 aces by firing seven more this year - sneaked into the event and played carefree tennis for the most part of the first week.

And once Ivanisevic saw Sampras' back, he truly began to think that this would be his year. Of course, he did have a few lucky breaks, but you cannot win your first major title at the age of 29, and when you are ranked 125 in the world, without a few of them.

Then again, when it came to the final against Rafter, luck played no part at all as Ivanisevic, playing his best tennis at the right moment in front of a crowd that turned Wimbledon into a mini-Wembley, overcame a gritty rival and his own fragile temperament to keep his date with destiny.

Rafter, beaten for the second time in two years in the final - he lost to Sampras in 2000 - looked the more likely winner after he struck back to take the fourth set in quick time with the Croatian protesting a fault call on his serve and appearing to be cracking up. But surprisingly Ivanisevic steered clear of the self-destruct button and finally broke the Australian's serve in the 15th game with some superb return winners. Serving for the match, Ivanisevic, with his arm weighing a ton, sent down two double faults in a row on his first two matchpoints. Then Rafter played a delightful lob to fight off a third before Ivanisevic closed out the most important match of his life on his fourth matchpoint.

"I don't know if this is a dream and I am going to wake up and somebody is going to say I did not win Wimbledon," said Ivanisevic. As it turned out, he did not sleep at all the night after his triumph, celebrating with friends and family in London's posh West End until early the next morning.

COMPARED to Ivanisevic's epochal victory, Venus Williams's triumph was a low key affair. Henin did very well to make a brief impact by taking the second set from an opponent who was eight inches taller than her and 16 kg heavier. Venus won the match 6-1, 3-6, 6-0.

Venus' serve and athleticism mark her out as a very special champion when it comes to grass court tennis. If all goes well for her, the African-American champion can dominate Wimbledon for many years more. The same cannot be said of Ivanisevic, to be sure. The Croat was considering retirement early this year after playing in the qualifying event of the Australian Open and then losing there in the first round.

His sensational victory would certainly help Ivanisevic stretch his career into his 30s but neither the new champion, nor any other young man now active in the sport could ever hope to match the heroics of the champion whose reign ended this year. For, Wimbledon will never again witness an era quite like the Pete Sampras reign.