Pinched nerve
Wimbledon finalist Ivanisevic withdraws before play begins
Posted: Sunday January 17, 1999 09:58 PM
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Ivanisevic was knocked out in the first round of last year's Australian Open AP |
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- Wimbledon finalist Goran Ivanisevic withdrew from the Australian Open with a back injury Monday and said it felt "like the end of the world."
Ivanisevic, who lost his third Wimbledon final last year, pulled out of the opening Grand Slam for 1999 just hours before his first-round match.
He pinched a nerve in his back during the Qatar Open in Doha to start the year and was troubled again during last week's Colonial Classic in Melbourne.
"They gave me so much medicine to take -- 10 pills a day, maybe more," Ivanisevic said.
He said he withdrew because there was no way he could last seven matches in a fortnight. He expected to catch the first plane out of Melbourne to recuperate at home.
"I cannot stay here. It's too much pain to watch and hang in the locker room, there's no way," a dejected Ivanisevic said.
"The tour is very tough. There's a lot of tournaments and it's very tough on the knees and back."
The No.12-ranked Croatian said he had prepared well for the new year until the setback in Doha.
"Now it seems like the end of the world for me," Ivanisevic said. "I came so far from Europe, traveling, preparing myself ready to start the new year.
"The next couple of days is going to be the worst for me, seeing the guys playing, watching on TV. It's pretty sad."
Ivanisevic was expected to play Russian Andrei Cherkasov in the opening round and liked his chances this year in "the most open Grand Slam ever."
He was knocked out in the first round of last year's Australian Open, where his best performances were quarterfinal losses in 1989, 1994 and 1997. "I always have a chance when I feel good and I'm 100 percent, but like this I don't have a chance," Ivanisevic said. "I'd just go there and lose in the first round and it's no fun for me.
"When I come to a Grand Slam I'm not a junior anymore, just happy to play Grand Slams for one or two rounds."
He said doctors suggested he rest for up to two weeks and he hopes to return at the St. Petersburg Open starting February 8.
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