He was responsible for one of the most marvellous stories ever to have taken place on the green fields of dreams at Wimbledon. It was in 2001 when Goran Ivanisevic, a seemingly hopeless wild card starter, finally achieved his greatest sporting goal in life at the All England Club - after losing three finals, the ‘Lord of the Aces’ finally became the acclaimed ‘King of the Lawn’ with his victory in the final against Australia's Patrik Rafter. And he did so on a ‘Monday of the people’, the third Monday of the tournament, which had become necessary due to the capricious weather and took place in an uncharacteristically exuberant party atmosphere. ‘It's the day I practically always think back to,’ says Ivanisevic, the Croatian national hero.
He will soon be back at Church Road in south-west London, travelling with Greece's tennis ace Stefanos Tsitsipas. As Tsitsipas' coach, he is expected to provide a certain boost in the grass court season and generate new vigour. But first, before the Grand Slam highlight, it's time to cement success on the tennis greens at the ATP 500 grass court classic in Halle. In the opening round of the 32nd TERRA WORTMANN OPEN, Tsitsipas came out on top by a wafer-thin margin, beating the Italian Luciano Darderi 6:4, 3:6, 7:6 (7:5). Ivanisevic, a concentrated observer on the other side of Centre Court, was pragmatically satisfied: "A win is a win. There are no beauty prizes."
But one thing is also clear for Boris Becker's former great rival: ‘Stefanos is not where he actually belongs.’ In other words: not at 25th place in the world rankings, the current position in the ATP pecking order, but in the closer top ten: "He had just lost touch a bit. But with his potential, he's a world-class player who should scare everyone."
Tsitsipas' 2025 season has been bumpy so far, with the exception of the tournament win at the glamorous Dubai Aviation Club. He recently lost in the second round of the French Open to Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante, after which the 26-year-old took some time out to regroup. The first joint training sessions with Ivanisevic followed in Zagreb, as well as moral encouragement from his new coach. "He has to believe in himself again and build up his self-confidence. It doesn't happen overnight,‘ says the 53-year-old Croatian, ’you shouldn't expect miracles, but you should expect good progress." The former Hammer racket player told Croatian broadcaster ‘HRT’ that he himself is ‘no Harry Potter’.
Ivanisevic, the former world number two and long-time successful coach of Team Djokovic, is always a welcome guest in HalleWestfalen. The ‘Lord of the Aces’ literally entertained the tennis fans in several legends matches at the ‘Champions Trophy’. ‘Goran is an absolute crowd favourite,’ says tournament director Ralf Weber. Ivanisevic last competed alongside Andrei Medvedev (Ukraine) in 2023 - against the combination of Mansour Bahrami and Tommy Haas. Now, however, he is back in the thick of the tennis circuit as an encourager and strategist for Stefanos Tsitsipas. ‘I'm not worried that he won't get back to the top,’ says Ivanisevic ahead of his protégé's round of 16 match against the American Alex Michelsen (ATP 33).
