If you did, consider yourself a genius. Entering The Championships, the old war horse hadn't won a match in three months, including first-round tournament losses to the illustrious Albert Montanes, Franco Squillari and Cristiano Caratti.
All that is irrelevant now, though. He may be a one-shot wonder, but Ivanisevic is certainly the most entertaining player in the world between points -- and who better to play before the rag-tag crowd that took in Monday's rain-delayed final?
Those fans saved the final weekend at the All England Club after eternal rain delays and a not-quite-thrilling women's final slowed down the action considerably. It's almost frightening to ponder how pumped up the crowd would have been if Tim Henman had made it through.
Regardless of all that, the undeniably real joy emanating from Ivanisevic after his win over Patrick Rafter made everything worthwhile.
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| She's still got it |
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Venus Williams was almost too good during Wimbledon. Her first-round loss at Roland Garros a distant memory, the defending champion didn't lose a set until the semifinals as she cruised to a repeat victory. Even the two sets she did drop in the tournament, to Lindsay Davenport in the semis and then Justine Henin in the final, seemed more a case of Williams taking a few games off than her opponents mounting any serious challenge. In both cases, Williams breezed through the first set, dropped the second, and immediately put her opponent away in the third. Say what you want about Venus, her sister or her dad, but she could own the All England Club for years. |
| Please, don't leave |
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As if we needed a reminder, Rafter once again demonstrated why he is one of the most popular players on tour during the fortnight. He is everything you don't expect from a hugely successful pro with a house in Bermuda, model-like looks and an actual model for a girlfriend -- a genuinely nice guy who everyone can cheer for. Go ahead, Pat, take a few months off after the U.S. Open if you need to, but don't call it a career just yet. You're only 28, and the game can't afford to lose you right now.
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Pre-tournament ranking of 1976 Australian Open champion Mark Edmondson, the only player ranked lower than Ivanisevic's current 125th in the world to win a Grand Slam event. |
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| ACE
Justine Henin -- What can you say about the 19-year-old who has overcome so much in her life already? With a French Open semifinal and Wimbledon final appearance in the span of a month, we certainly will hear from her and her backhand again.
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DOUBLE FAULT
Andre Agassi -- Everyone expected more from the generally gracious veteran during his semifinal loss to Rafter, but it was hard to watch his petulant display and not have a bad taste in your mouth. |
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Mikhail Youzhny -- You all know about Andy Roddick, but Russia's young gun did Roddick one better at Wimbledon by advancing to the round of 16 in his Wimbledon debut before falling to Rafter. He turned 19 just before the fortnight and should be around for a while. |
DOUBLE FAULT
Martina Hingis -- Please, take some time off, for everyone's sake. |
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Roger Federer -- Another 19-year-old prodigy pulled off the upset of the tournament, following through on his much-touted potential by knocking out seven-time champion Pete Sampras in the fourth round. |
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In conjunction with this week's tournament in Newport, the Class of 2001 will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame on Saturday. Eight-time Grand Slam singles winner Ivan Lendl and former Australian Davis Cup Star Mervyn Rose are this year's new members.
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Despite her first-round exit at the hands of Virginia Ruano Pascual, Hingis remains the top-ranked women's player. Of note in the new rankings: Jennifer Capriati is up one slot to No. 3, Henin rises from No. 9 to No. 5 and Ruano Pascual rockets from 83rd to 50th. |
Ivanisevic is only the second unseeded singles winner in Wimbledon history. Boris Becker was unseeded in 1985, the first of his three championships at the All England Club. Ivanisevic is also the first left-handed player to win Wimbledon since John McEnroe in 1984.
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The best hope for the future of American women's tennis, 16-year-old Ashley Harkleroad of Flintstone, Ga., made her mark at Wimbledon by teaming with Argentina's Gisella Dulko to win the girls' doubles title. Harkleroad lost in the third round of singles play.
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Even before the 20,000 or so who took in Monday's extra day of play were figured in, Wimbledon broke its all-time attendance record this year. Through Sunday, 476,711 fans came through the gates, up from last year's mark of 446,593. The single-day record was also broken for eight different days, including a record crowd of 41,440 on the first Thursday. |
Marat Safin bowed out in the quarterfinals to Ivanisevic, but that wasn't his family's best showing at Wimbledon. Marat's sister Dinara, who at 15 years old is already 5-foot-11, made it to the girls' singles final before losing to Angelique Widjaja of Indonesia. |
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| "This year I have taken a new approach. I can't see anybody who is better than me. In my mind I am the best, but on paper I am No. 2."
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| Venus Williams, still behind Hingis in the rankings, after her victory.
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| "One was rushing, the other one was rushing even more. Then the third one came and said, 'Guys, relax. It's a lovely court. Relax. Just calm down.' Third one had to come. I had to call him. He's the emergency one. Emergency 911 call."
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| Ivanisevic on his battling personalities during his win over Roddick. |
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| This week - ATP Tour |
| It's back to the usual tour grind with Wimbledon all wrapped up. There are three men's tournaments this week -- two in Europe, one in the U.S. The main attraction is the UBS Swiss Open in Gstaad, which features Safin, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Sebastien Grosjean. At the Swedish Open, which like the Swiss is on clay, defending champ Magnus Norman is the top seed. The other tournament is the only one in the U.S. on grass, the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, R.I., where Vladimir Voltchkov leads a field composed mostly of lower-profile players. |
| This week - WTA Tour |
| The women have a pair of tournaments on European red clay. Many top players are taking the week off, but the UNIQA Grand Prix in Vienna features Elena Dementieva and Jelena Dokic along with local favorite Barbara Schett. The other tournament is in Palermo, Italy. |
| Next week - ATP Tour |
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Three more clay-court tournaments are on tap, led by the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. There are also 32-player events in Amsterdam and Umag, Croatia. |
| Next week - WTA Tour |
| The Sanex Trophy in Belgium shares time with the second round of Fed Cup play for this year.
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