“The trouble with me is that every match I play against five opponents: umpire, crowd, ball boys, court, and myself.”
Before I saw him fire the 200 aces in the Wimbledon of 1992 I didn't even know that a country by the name Croatia existed.
But the double faults and the missed volleys into the nets against Agassi at the Wimbledon finals introduced me to Goran Ivanisevic.. And from then on he endeared himself to me.
It was as if I could relate myself with him. Time and again buckling under pressure.. working hard, praying, imploring, invoking God and anyone else to give him what he desired the most. But always unable to make that final jump..
The video below shows all that Goran was about.. Emotions, drama, superstition, extraordinary ability and desire.
Like me and my friends were discussing - the last game to win the Championship is all about him and the crowd. Rafter - his opponent does not matter. Either Goran is gonna ruin it all by serving double faults or keep pumping in the aces. Pat is just a by-stander. Goran not messing up in that decisive game and finally winning at Wimbledon was more of a relief to him, his family, his fans , and probably his opponents too.
One of my all time favourite sporting moments...
