News
10/11/01
Goran is scheduled to play Kuerten on Tuesday, 13 Nov. It'll be a night match though.
8/11/01
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Goran Ivanisevic, who battled past a shoulder injury to win Wimbledon, will play in the season-ending Tennis Masters Cup despite a freak accident in the shower.
The Croatian, who takes daily painkillers for his damaged left shoulder, stubbed his toe in the shower of his Sydney hotel on Wednesday.
The minor but painful injury forced him to miss a practice session later that day.
Tournament officials however said Ivanisevic trained on Thursday and would not need scans of the injury.
``There's no problem, he's ready to play,'' a tournament spokesman told Reuters.
Ivanisevic has been drawn in a four-man group with top seed Gustavo Kuerten clay court specialist Juan Carlos Ferrero and Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the season-ending event.
The second group features Australians Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter, the United States' Andre Agassi and Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean.
Germany's Tommy Haas is on standby as an alternate should any players be unable to make the $3.7 million tournament's elite eight-man field.
2/11/01
"LONDON (Reuters) - There is no mystery to the source of Goran Ivanisevic's meteoric return to form -- latest figures reveal the giant Croatian is back atop the ATP Tour's list of ace servers.
After plumbing the depths of tennis mediocrity, the 30-year-old rewrote history this year by becoming the first wildcard to win the Wimbledon men's singles crown, avenging three defeats in the final there in the 1990s.
The keystone of his famous victory and subsequent vault back up the rankings has been his brutal left-handed serve, as figures released this week by the governing body of men's tennis show.
Ivanisevic has hit more aces this year than any other man on the Tour -- 715 in 44 matches, an average of more than 16 per match.
By contrast, Britain's Greg Rusedski, holder of the fastest-ever serve, has managed 622, but took 59 matches to amass that number."
30/10/01
GORAN JUST LOST! As in this very minute. 1.27 pm there! I watched the scores and just about broke my heart. Thank god he's already in the Cup. Sighh.....4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8). And he was leading 6-4 in the tiebreak too.
29/10/01
Goran will be playing in the Paris Masters Series which start today. He's seeded 12th and received a bye into the second round. He'll meet either Robredo or Vinciguerra.
Goran has also been confirmed a place in the Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney:
Ivanisevic Qualifies for Tennis Masters Cup
The Wimbledon champion will be heading to Sydney next month.
Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic has become the sixth player to qualify for the prestigious season-ending tournament, the Tennis Masters Cup. Tournament promoter Simon Baggs made the announcement today that the popular Croat will join Andre Agassi, Pat Rafter, Gustavo Kuerten, Lleyton Hewitt and Juan Carlos Ferrero, at the Sydney SuperDome, 12 to 18 November.
"It's like a present for playing well all the year," said Ivanisevic. "It will be great to be with the seven other great players in Sydney, plus I like Australia, it's a great country and I will have great support there because I think like 100,000 Croatians live in Sydney. It will be a great atmosphere."
Without doubt the highlight of Ivanisevic's career came in July this year when he won Wimbledon for the first time defeating Marat Safin, Tim Henman and Pat Rafter in the last three rounds. The 30 year old is no stranger to events such as the Tennis Masters Cup - he has been a semifinalist on three occasions (1992, 1993, 1996) and won the Grand Slam Cup in 1995.
"It's great, it's a great honour to be there and whatever you do it's great," added Ivanisevic. "You can't leave the Tennis Masters Cup as a loser because nobody is a loser there because you are a winner already by qualifying and you leave there as a winner, even if you don't win."
Ivanisevic says he is expecting to see the entire Croatian community to come out and watch him in action. He has been a frequent visitor to Sydney having won the indoor event in 1992 and was runner-up at the outdoor tournament in 1996.
He added: "I heard that a lot of Croatians watched my match with Rafter (Wimbledon final) and all the Croatians clubs were full of people. They are really going to be pumped. It's going to be great, it will be the greatest atmosphere ever. I remember 1992 when I won Sydney Indoor, there were a couple of thousand Croatian supporters but this time it's going to be even bigger."
Mr. Baggs says having Ivanisevic in the line-up means that all four Grand Slam champions for 2001 have now qualified for the tournament.
"This is brilliant. We have been saying all along that Sydney has never seen a tournament like the Tennis Masters Cup before and this goes to prove it even more," said Mr. Baggs. "The contests between the players is going to be tremendous.
"Certainly Goran will have the support of the Croatian community and he will draw on every bit of energy he can from them. The fact that Australians, Pat and Lleyton, make up a quarter of the line-up, will allow them to muster plenty of enthusiasm from the home crowd. This really is a tournament not to be missed."
27/10/01
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - Defending champion Marat Safin overpowered Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic 6-3, 7-6 at the St. Petersburg Open on Friday to set up an all-Russian semifinal against Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Safin, seeded number three, hammered 14 aces against the hard-hitting Croatian, who struggled for consistency on his first serve.
``I was serving well and my volley game was just as good,'' Safin said. ``And as I play well my confidence goes up, so there was little problem for me tonight. The win also leaves me with a chance to make the Masters Cup in Sydney and I will fight to get there to the very end.''
Safin broke Ivanisevic in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead, then took his serve again in the ninth game to clinch the first set.
In the second, the fifth-seeded Croat, dissatisfied with line calls on several occasions, started complaining to the umpire.
At one point, he climbed up the official's chair to make his point after a serve was called out.
Nevertheless, both players held serve until the second-set tie-break, in which Ivanisevic faltered again while Safin hit a couple of aces and service winners to blitz his opponent 7-0, finishing off the match in just 71 minutes.
26/10/01
Goran's playing Safin at the Central Court not earlier than 7 pm (St. Pete time). Wish I could catch it.
25/10/01
Goran beat Mantilla 7-6, 6-5. He's in the quarter-finals!!! Yay! He next plays the winner of the Safin vs. Martin (Alberto) round. His game'll probably be tomorrow.
24/10/01
"Goran Ivanisevic breezed into the second round of the St. Petersburg Open Monday with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Chilean Nicolas Massu. Currently 13th in the ATP Champions Race, Ivanisevic is all but assured of finishing the season in the Top 20 and earning a wild card into Tennis Masters Cup Sydney.
But Ivanisevic's immediate focus is on winning his 23rd career title. "I like to play in Russia," said the reigning Wimbledon champion. "I really like this part of the world. Last year I did not do so well here but I hope that this year I can do as well as in Moscow a few years ago."
Goran is up against Felix Mantilla next. He'll be playing on Court 1 sometime after 3pm.
22/10/01
Goran's playing in the St. Petersburg Open in Russia starting today till the 28th. He's up against Nicolas Massu of Chile in the first round. And he's seeded 5th/Wildcard. It's an indoor carpet tourney.
19/10/01
I love Goran's temper...
"STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Qualifier Max Mirnyi of Belarus survived two match points and 31 aces to oust Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic 4-6 7-6 7-6 after a tense third round match at the Stuttgart Masters Series tournament on Thursday.
Croatia's Ivanisevic, who wasted his two match points in the decisive tie-break, received a warning for racket abuse and then started escalating the umpire chair's ladder after two controversial line calls.
While the volatile Ivanisevic lost his temper, Mirnyi kept his cool under pressure, taking the final tie-break 10-8 with an ace on his second match point after just under two hours.
Ivanisevic, the 13th seed, sent down 31 aces to Mirnyi's 14 but lacked composure when it mattered."
18/10/01
Goran'll be playing Mirnyi at 1pm (Stuttgart time), Center Court.
17/10/01
Wahoo! Goran’s beaten Philippoussis! And Guga’s out, so our beloved Goran’ll have to play Max Mirnyi. I think the match’ll be played tomorrow (Thursday).
“In a bruising second round match, Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic came up with the shots when he needed them most to overcome Mark Philippoussis 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-3.
With both men serving enormously throughout, Ivanisevic squeezed through the first set, but had to withstand some inspired Philippoussis play to prevail. The Australian slammed down 20 aces to the Croatian's 16, but it wasn't enough.”
16/10/01
Goran got a bye to the second round of the Masters Series in Stuttgart. He's seeded 13th there. He'll be playing Mark Philippoussis at 1 pm (Stuttgart time) at the Center Court. GO GORAN!
13/10/01
Wimbledon champion Ivanisevic earlier plunged out of the $800,000 tournament, losing 6-7 6-3 6-3 to an inspired Michael Chang.
The Croatian said he had fought hard to hold the first set against Chang but added the American's game in the final two sets was "unbelievable".
"I have played him 10 times and he has never played like that against me," Ivanisevic said.
"It is very slow," Ivanisevic said, adding however that this was not the reason he lost the match. "And after three games the balls are so big and have so much hair they just do not go anywhere."
10/10/01
Goran's playing on Court A at 6.25pm Vienna time. Can he see?
9/10/01
Jay the Idiot. The CA Trophy's already on! It started on the 8th, and'll be ending on the 14th! I've got to go get my eyes checked. Thank god Goran hasn't played yet. GOOD LUCK!!!
7/10/01
Goran will be playing in the CA-Tennis-Trophy 2001 in Vienna (October 14-18). It's an indoor hard court tourney. He'll be up against Michael Chang in the first round. GORAN FOREVER!!!
26/09/01
ZAGREB - Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is to play through pain for another two years instead of undergoing surgery on his left shoulder.
``I have spoken to some people who have undergone such surgery and simply decided to clench my teeth and try to play for another two years,'' Croatia's 30-year-old national sports hero told Vjesnik daily in an interview.
Ivanisevic helped his country's Davis Cup team beat Italy last weekend to qualify for the world group.
``I know it will hurt, but it has hurt for the past three years and I have managed to cope, with painkillers. Besides, surgery would keep me away from court for at least four months and I could not guarantee that the pain would not come again,'' he said.
Ivanisevic, who beat Australian Patrick Rafter in the Wimbledon final last July, said he was getting old and losing enthusiasm and would now chose tournaments carefully, playing more on fast surfaces and less on clay.
``I am already old and fed up with traveling, getting up early, changing planes and hotels. Younger players keep coming up all the time, who do not respect an old man like me.''
Earlier this month, Ivanisevic was drafted into the Croatian army, but he will be allowed to travel and compete abroad during the six-month service.
24/09/01
The scores of the Croatia vs. Italy round. Croatia won 3-2!
| Filippo Volandri | 6 7 3 0 6 |
| Goran Ivanisevic | 2 6 6 6 4 |
| Federico Luzzi | 4 2 1 |
| Ivan Ljubicic | 6 6 6 |
| Galimberti/Navarra | 7 6 6 2 4 |
| Ivanisevic/Ljubicic | 6 3 7 6 6 |
| Federico Luzzi | 6 3 4 |
| Goran Ivanisevic | 7 6 6 |
| Filippo Volandri | 6 6 |
| Ivan Vaida | 2 4 |
22/09/01
Distressing news!
ROME (AP) - Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic was upset in a Davis Cup match Friday, losing in five sets to Filippo Volandri, an Italian ranked 141st.
Volandri's 6-2, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 0-6, 6-4 victory gave Italy a 1-0 lead over Croatia in a qualifying-round series in World Group play. Croatia evened the series when Ivan Ljubicic defeated Federico Luzzi 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
``It's something fantastic,'' Volandri said. ``I could hardly hope to beat a great champion like Ivanisevic.''
Ivanisevic, ranked 16th, made repeated unforced errors and failed to capitalize on break points in the clay-court match at Foro Italico.
Volandri, drawing on his backhand and drop shots, rallied from a 3-1 deficit and one break down to 5-4 in the fifth set.
Hampered by cramps, the Italian served for the match and won when Ivanisevic sent a long return.
Italy, fielding a team of young players, is trying to regain a berth in the World Group after being demoted for the first time last year.
--Let's hope he improves his game!
17/09/01
The ITF has decided to introduce different/slower tennis balls into the game after complaints of matches being dominated by serves. But what about Goran?!!!
Another change: "A new "super tiebreak" was also approved as an experiment until the end of next year to replace the deciding final set in a three or five set match.
The first player to 10 points will win the new super tiebreak provided he leads by a margin of two points"
15/09/01
GORAN'S BEEN DRAFTED INTO THE MILITARY! Full story here.
11/09/01
Right, I'm a little confused here. I can't seem to find Goran's name in the draw for the Gelsor Open. So either he's withdrawn from it, or I'm just plain blind. Pick one.
3/09/01
'Tis a sad day indeed. Goran lost. Sighh... Here's a short clip.
In the third upset of the day, reigning Wimbledon champ and No. 15 seed Goran Ivanisevic fell to 40th-ranked Albert Costa of Spain in straight sets before a packed house at Louis Armstrong Stadium Sunday. In a post-match interview, a disappointed Ivanisevic admitted his mistakes cost him the match, saying, "Today I miss a lot of easy volleys." Ivanisevic committed 50 unforced errors but scored 47 winners, while Costa had 20 errors and 24 winners.
•Looking forward, Goran'll be playing in the Gelsor Open from the 10th to 16th of September. It's in Bucharest, Romania, and it's a clay surface.
1/09/01
This is a little late, but I just came home from a vacation. So bear with me.
•Goran beat Armando with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
•American qualifier Justin Gimelstob was silenced in straight sets Friday by No. 15 seed Goran Ivanisevic and his 23 aces, just two shy of his record-setting performance in the first round against Hugo Armando. Although each player had seven opportunities to break his opponent's serve, the reigning Wimbledon champ converted four break points to the fiery American's single conversion. Ivanisevic will face Spain's Albert Costa in the fourth round in his bid to be a back-to back winner of the US Open and Wimbledon.
23/08/01
Goran is facing Hugo Armando of the US in the first round of the US Open.
22/08/01
Goran lost to Mantilla yesterday with a score of 3-6, 5-7. On the good side, at least he'll have plenty of time to rest before the US Open.
20/08/01
•Rain delayed Goran's semis match on Saturday evening, so the match was postponed to Sunday morning. However, Goran lost to Guga again with a score of 6-1, 3-6, 2-6. Sigh... But we did manage to catch Goran breaking a couple of his rackets and throwing them onto the courtside flowers.
Quoted:“Good Goran was frustrated, but he didn’t want to break a racket. But Bad Goran pushed my arm down that extra two inches for the break. “I forgot I already had a warning.”
•But on to the next tourney. Goran's playing in Long Island in the Hamlet Cup against Felix Mantilla of Barcelona, Spain. He's seeded seventh there. Goran, not Felix. Here's a piece of news on it.
18/08/01
Goran has beaten El Aynaoui with straight sets (7-5, 6-3). He'll be playing Guga again in the semis. The match is set for 7pm tomorrow.