Goran Ivanisevic

Goran Ivanisevic

Born: September 13, 1971
Age: 53
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Biography

Representing Croatia Olympic Games 1992 Barcelona Singles 1992 Barcelona Men's Doubles

Goran Ivanišević (born 13 September 1971) is a retired Croatian professional tennis player and current tennis coach. He is the only person to win the men's singles title at Wimbledon as a wildcard. He achieved this in 2001, having previously been runner-up at the championships in 1992, 1994 and 1998. Before the 2001 tournament, he was ranked 125th and after his victory he was 16th. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 2 (behind Pete Sampras) in 1994. He is the current coach of Marin Čilić.

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Career

Goran is the son of Srđan and Gorana (née Škaričić). He turned professional in 1988 and, later that year, with Rüdiger Haas, won his first career doubles title in Frankfurt. Although he focused mostly on his singles career, he also had some success in doubles, winning nine titles and reaching a career-high ranking of 20.

In 1989, as a qualifier he made the quarter finals of the Australian Open. Ivanišević made his first significant impact on the tour in 1990, knocking Boris Becker out of the first round of the French Open men's singles; he went on to reach the quarter-finals. He was also, with Petr Korda, the runner-up in the French Open men's doubles. At that year's Wimbledon, Ivanišević reached the semi-finals, where he lost to Becker in four sets. Ivanišević also won his first tour singles title in 1990 at Stuttgart and helped Yugoslavia win the World Team Cup. He played in eight ties for Yugoslavia in the Davis Cup before quitting the team after the declaration of independence in 1991. Yugoslavia lost its subsequent tie against France 5-0.

Ivanišević quickly became known on the tour for his strong, attacking style of play and for an extremely powerful serve. For several years, he had more aces than anyone else on the tour. Capable of beating anyone in the world when at his very best, he was also known for occasional on-court temper tantrums—usually directed towards himself—and the volatility of the standard of his play. Ivanišević received death threats at the 1992 Australian Men's Hardcourt Championships. He went on to win the tournament.

In 1992, Ivanišević steamrolled his way to reach his first Wimbledon singles final, having defeated Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, and Pete Sampras in succession. Ivanišević's 6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 semi final victory over Sampras was particularly impressive, with Ivanišević serving 36 aces and not even facing a break point in the entire match. In the final, Ivanišević faced Andre Agassi and was heavily favored to win; with both players attempting to win their first Grand Slam title. Agassi eventually won 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. In the fifth set, Ivanišević had a break point on Agassi's serve at 3-3, but failed to convert it. In the final game of the match, Ivanišević served 2 double faults to start the game, even though he had only served 5 double faults in the entire match before that. Ivanišević's ace count for the tournament (206) was the highest in Wimbledon history at the time, until Ivanišević beat his own record in 2001 with 213 aces. Ivanišević served 37 aces in the 1992 Wimbledon final against Agassi, while Agassi had 37 aces in the entire tournament. It was a tough loss, but as Ivanišević was only 20 years old, a bright future was predicted. Later that summer at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, Ivanišević won bronze medals in both singles and doubles representing Croatia, a state that had only recently declared independence; he also served as flagbearer for the Croatian team at the opening ceremony. He also won four singles titles that year.

Ivanišević reached the Wimbledon final for the second time in 1994, where he was defeated by defending-champion Pete Sampras 7-6, 7-6, 6-0. Ivanišević reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 2 in July that year.

In 1995, Ivanišević won the Grand Slam Cup, beating Todd Martin in the final 7-6, 6-3, 6-4. At Wimbledon, Ivanišević lost in the semi-finals to Sampras 6-7, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6.

In 1996, Ivanišević won a career-best five singles titles in a calendar year. He reached the Grand Slam Cup final again, but this time lost to Becker in straight sets. Ivanišević also teamed with Iva Majoli to win the 1996 Hopman Cup for Croatia. That year Ivanišević also defeated Stefan Edberg to reach the semi-finals of the U.S. Open, his first Grand Slam semi final away from Wimbledon; the match was the last Grand Slam match of Edberg's career. In the semi finals, Ivanišević fell again to Sampras, in four sets; Sampras would go on to defeat Michael Chang to win his fourth U.S. Open championship.

In April 1997, Ivanišević became the only player to defeat the "king of clay", Thomas Muster, in a Davis Cup singles match on clay. Ivanišević defeated Muster, 6-7, 7-5, 6-7, 6-2, 7-5, despite Muster having won 112 of his previous 117 matches on clay going into the match. During 1997, Ivanišević also got back up to his career high ranking of World No. 2, although his ranking fell down to No. 15 by the end of the year.

In 1998, Ivanišević reached his third Wimbledon final, facing Sampras once again. Ivanišević started the match well, but failed to take set points which would have given him a 2 set lead, and Ivanišević eventually lost to Sampras in five sets, 7-6, 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 2-6.

Ivanišević finished runner-up in the French Open men's doubles in 1999 (with Jeff Tarango). However, for much of 1999, 2000, and 2001, he struggled with a shoulder injury and his performance and world ranking began to slide steadily.

By the summer of 2001, Ivanišević was ranked the World No. 125. This was not sufficient to earn him an automatic place in the main draw at Wimbledon but, given his past record as a three-time runner-up, he was awarded a wildcard for entry into the singles draw. He defeated former and future World #1 players Carlos Moyá, Andy Roddick and Marat Safin as well as Fredrik Jonsson and Greg Rusedski to reach the semi-final, beating home favourite Tim Henman in a five set, rain-affected semi-final, setting up a match with the previous year's runner-up and former US Open champion Patrick Rafter. It was Ivanišević's first singles final since 1998. In a match lasting just over three hours, Ivanišević defeated Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7. Two months shy of his 30th birthday, Ivanišević became the lowest-ranked player and the first wildcard entry to win Wimbledon. To date, he is the only male entrant to have won a Grand Slam as a wildcard. His Wimbledon success was rated sixteenth at the list of 100 Greatest Sporting Moments by a British television programme.

On 10 July 2001, Ivanišević received a hero's welcome in his home city of Split where a crowd of over 150,000 led by local and state dignitaries greeted him at the central harbor, with a parade of boats and fireworks, topped off by Ivanišević himself taking off his clothes and jumping into the sea. Later that year he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Overseas Personality Award.

The 2001 Wimbledon title was the last of Ivanišević's career. He temporarily retired in 2002 due to shoulder surgery. He returned to tennis sparingly in the following years but, in 2004, retired after a third-round loss to Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon, held on the Centre Court, the scene of his greatest triumph.

Football

Ivanišević played football for the Croatian team Hajduk Split in 2001. Goran supports English team West Bromwich Albion. He became a fan after the Midland club's escape from Premiership relegation in 2005. He wore an Albion shirt whilst warming up prior to the 2006 BlackRock Masters final and finally watched his first match in December 2011, as West Bromwich Albion played Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road

Ivanišević also participated in an exhibition match of the Croatian national team of 1998 versus the International football stars on 7 October 2002 in Zagreb. It was the last career match of Croatian midfielder and team captain Zvonimir Boban. Ivanišević scored the goal for 1-1 (the game ended 2-1 for the International stars).


Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1992 Wimbledon Grass Andre Agassi 7-6(10-8), 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 4-6
Runner-up 1994 Wimbledon Grass Pete Sampras 6-7(2-7), 6-7(5-7), 0-6
Runner-up 1998 Wimbledon Grass Pete Sampras 7-6(7-2), 6-7(9-11), 4-6, 6-3, 2-6
Winner 2001 Wimbledon Grass Patrick Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7

Doubles: 2

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponent Score
Runner-up 1990 French Open Clay Petr Korda Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez
5-7, 3-6
Runner-up 1999 French Open Clay Jeff Tarango Mahesh Bhupathi
Leander Paes
2-6, 5-7

Super 9/Masters Series finals

Singles: 7 (2-5)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1992 Stockholm Carpet (i) Guy Forget 7-6(7-2), 4-6, 7-6(7-5), 6-2
Runner-up 1993 Rome Clay Jim Courier 1-6, 2-6, 2-6
Runner-up 1993 Stockholm Carpet (i) Michael Stich 6-4, 6-7(6-8), 6-7(3-7), 2-6
Winner 1993 Paris Carpet (i) Andrei Medvedev 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7-2)
Runner-up 1994 Stockholm Carpet (i) Boris Becker 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-7(4-7)
Runner-up 1995 Hamburg Clay Andrei Medvedev 3-6, 2-6, 1-6
Runner-up 1996 Miami Hard Andre Agassi 0-3 ret.

Career titles

Singles (22-27)

Legend
Grand Slam (1-3)
Tennis Masters Cup (0-0)
Grand Slam Cup (1-1)
ATP Masters Series (2-5)
ATP Championship Series (7-5)
ATP World Series (11-13)
Titles by Surface
Hard (3-8)
Grass (2-4)
Clay (3-6)
Carpet (14-9)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. 22 May 1989 Florence, Italy Clay Horacio de la Peña 4-6, 3-6
Runner-up 2. 14 May 1990 Umag, Yugoslavia Clay Goran Prpić 3-6, 6-4, 4-6
Winner 1. 16 July 1990 Stuttgart (o), West Germany Clay Guillermo Pérez Roldán 6-7(2-7), 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(7-5)
Runner-up 3. 20 August 1990 Long Island, US Hard Stefan Edberg 6-7(3-7), 3-6
Runner-up 4. 10 September 1990 Bordeaux, France Clay Guy Forget 4-6, 3-6
Runner-up 5. 24 September 1990 Basel, Switzerland Carpet (i) John McEnroe 7-6(7-4), 6-4, 6-7(3-7), 3-6, 4-6
Winner 2. 17 June 1991 Manchester, UK Grass Pete Sampras 6-4, 6-4
Runner-up 6. 12 August 1991 New Haven, US Hard Petr Korda 4-6, 2-6
Winner 3. 30 December 1991 Adelaide, Australia Hard Christian Bergström 1-6, 7-6(7-5), 6-4
Runner-up 7. 3 February 1992 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Omar Camporese 6-3, 3-6, 4-6
Winner 4. 17 February 1992 Stuttgart (i), Germany Carpet (i) Stefan Edberg 6-7(5-7), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Runner-up 8. 22 June 1992 Wimbledon, London Grass Andre Agassi 7-6(10-8), 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 4-6
Winner 5. 5 October 1992 Sydney (i), Australia Hard (i) Stefan Edberg 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
Winner 6. 26 October 1992 Stockholm, Sweden Carpet (i) Guy Forget 7-6(7-2), 4-6, 7-6(7-5), 6-2
Runner-up 9. 4 January 1993 Doha, Qatar Hard Boris Becker 6-7(4-7), 6-4, 5-7
Runner-up 10. 10 May 1993 Rome, Italy Clay Jim Courier 1-6, 2-6, 2-6
Winner 7. 13 September 1993 Bucharest, Romania Clay Andrei Cherkasov 6-2, 7-6(7-5)
Winner 8. 18 October 1993 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Thomas Muster 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(7-3)
Runner-up 11. 25 October 1993 Stockholm, Sweden Carpet (i) Michael Stich 6-4, 6-7(6-8), 6-7(3-7), 2-6
Winner 9. 1 November 1993 Paris Indoor, France Carpet (i) Andrei Medvedev 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7-2)
Runner-up 12. 14 February 1994 Stuttgart (i), Germany Carpet (i) Stefan Edberg 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 2-6
Runner-up 13. 20 June 1994 Wimbledon, London Grass Pete Sampras 6-7(2-7), 6-7(5-7), 0-6
Winner 10. 1 August 1994 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Fabrice Santoro 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Runner-up 14. 12 September 1994 Bucharest, Romania Clay Franco Davín 2-6, 4-6
Winner 11. 10 October 1994 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet (i) Michael Chang 6-4, 6-4
Runner-up 15. 24 October 1994 Stockholm, Sweden Carpet (i) Boris Becker 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-7(4-7)
Runner-up 16. 8 May 1995 Hamburg, Germany Clay Andrei Medvedev 3-6, 2-6, 1-6
Winner 12. 5 December 1995 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Carpet (i) Todd Martin 7-6(7-4), 6-3, 6-4
Runner-up 17. 8 January 1996 Sydney (o), Australia Hard Todd Martin 7-5, 3-6, 4-6
Winner 13. 29 January 1996 Zagreb, Croatia Carpet (i) Cédric Pioline 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Winner 14. 12 February 1996 Dubai, UAE Hard Albert Costa 6-4, 6-3
Runner-up 18. 19 February 1996 Antwerp, Belgium Carpet (i) Michael Stich 3-6, 2-6, 6-7(5-7)
Winner 15. 26 February 1996 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Marc Rosset 6-3, 7-6(7-3)
Winner 16. 4 March 1996 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i) Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Runner-up 19. 18 March 1996 Key Biscayne, US Hard Andre Agassi 0-3, ret.
Runner-up 20. 12 August 1996 Indianapolis, US Hard Pete Sampras 6-7(3-7), 5-7
Winner 17. 4 November 1996 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Yevgeny Kafelnikov 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
Runner-up 21. 3 December 1996 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Carpet (i) Boris Becker 3-6, 4-6, 4-6
Winner 18. 27 January 1997 Zagreb, Croatia Carpet (i) Greg Rusedski 7-6(7-4), 4-6, 7-6(8-6)
Runner-up 22. 10 February 1997 Dubai, UAE Hard Thomas Muster 5-7, 6-7(3-7)
Winner 19. 24 February 1997 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Sergi Bruguera 6-2, 6-2
Runner-up 23. 9 June 1997 Queen's Club, UK Grass Mark Philippoussis 5-7, 3-6
Winner 20. 6 October 1997 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Greg Rusedski 3-6, 6-7(4-7), 7-6(7-4), 6-2, 6-3
Winner 21. 2 February 1998 Split, Croatia Carpet (i) Greg Rusedski 7-6(7-3), 7-6(7-5)
Runner-up 24. 22 June 1998 Wimbledon, London Grass Pete Sampras 7-6(7-2), 6-7(9-11), 4-6, 6-3, 2-6
Runner-up 25. 17 August 1998 New Haven, US Hard Karol Kučera 4-6, 7-5, 2-6
Runner-up 26. 5 October 1998 Shanghai, China Carpet Michael Chang 6-4, 1-6, 2-6
Runner-up 27. 9 November 1998 Moscow, Russia Carpet Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-7(2-7), 6-7(5-7)
Winner 22. 25 June 2001 Wimbledon, London Grass Patrick Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7

Doubles (9-10)

Legend
Grand Slam Tournaments (0-2)
Tennis Masters Cup (0-0)
ATP Masters Series (1-0)
ATP International Series Gold (1-4)
ATP International Series (7-4)
Finals by Surface
Hard (3-3)
Clay (1-5)
Grass (1-1)
Carpet (4-1)
Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 17 October 1988 Frankfurt, West Germany Carpet (i) Rudiger Haas Jeremy Bates
Tom Nijssen
1-6, 7-5, 6-3
Runner-up 1. 2 October 1989 Palermo, Italy Clay Diego Nargiso Peter Ballauff
Rudiger Haas
2-6, 7-6, 4-6
Runner-up 2. 19 February 1990 Brussels, Belgium Carpet (i) Balázs Taróczy Emilio Sánchez
Slobodan Živojinović
5-7, 3-6
Runner-up 3. 11 June 1990 French Open, Paris Clay Petr Korda Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez
5-7, 3-6
Runner-up 4. 20 August 1990 New Haven, U.S. Hard Petr Korda Jeff Brown
Scott Melville
5-7, 6-7
Winner 2. 4 February 1991 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Omar Camporese Cyril Suk
Tom Nijssen
6-4, 7-6
Winner 3. 13 May 1991 Rome, Italy Clay Omar Camporese Laurie Warder
Luke Jensen
6-2, 6-3
Winner 4. 17 June 1991 Manchester, UK Grass Omar Camporese Andrew Castle
Nick Brown
6-4, 6-3
Runner-up 5. 22 July 1991 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Omar Camporese Wally Masur
Emilio Sánchez
6-2, 3-6, 4-6
Winner 5. 30 December 1991 Adelaide, Australia Hard Marc Rosset Mark Kratzmann
Jason Stoltenberg
7-6, 7-6
Runner-up 6. 15 June 1992 Queen's Club, UK Grass Diego Nargiso John Fitzgerald
Anders Järryd
4-6, 6-7
Runner-up 7. 17 April 1995 Barcelona, Spain Clay Andrea Gaudenzi Trevor Kronemann
David Macpherson
2-6, 4-6
Runner-up 8. 7 August 1995 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Saša Hirszon Brent Haygarth
Kent Kinnear
4-6, 5-7
Winner 6. 11 September 1995 Bordeaux, France Hard Saša Hirszon Henrik Holm
Danny Sapsford
6-3, 6-4
Winner 7. 26 February 1996 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Andrea Gaudenzi Jakob Hlasek
Guy Forget
6-4, 7-5
Winner 8. 27 January 1997 Zagreb, Croatia Carpet (i) Saša Hiršzon Brent Haygarth
Mark Keil
6-4, 6-3
Winner 9. 10 February 1997 Dubai, UAE Hard Sander Groen Sandon Stolle
Cyril Suk
7-6, 6-3
Runner-up 9. 7 June 1999 French Open, Paris Clay Jeff Tarango Mahesh Bhupathi
Leander Paes
2-6, 5-7
Runner-up 10. 2 August 1999 Los Angeles Hard Brian MacPhie Byron Black
Wayne Black
2-6, 6-7

Team titles (3)

  • 1990 - World Team Cup winner with Yugoslavia
  • 1996 - Hopman Cup winner with Croatia
  • 2005 - Davis Cup winner with Croatia

Singles performance timeline

Yugoslavia Croatia
Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 SR W-L
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A QF 1R 3R 2R A QF 1R 3R QF 1R A 2R Q1 2R A A 0 / 11 19-11
French Open A 4R QF 2R QF 3R QF 1R 4R 1R 1R 1R 1R A A A A 0 / 12 21-12
Wimbledon 1R 2R SF 2R F 3R F SF QF 2R F 4R 1R W A A 3R 1 / 15 49-14
US Open A 2R 3R 4R 3R 2R 1R 1R SF 1R 4R 3R 1R 3R A A A 0 / 13 21-13
Win-Loss 0-1 9-4 11-4 7-4 13-4 5-3 14-4 5-4 14-4 5-4 9-4 5-3 1-4 9-1 1-1 0-0 2-1 1 / 51 110-50
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A 1R 3R 1R 1R 1R 1R A SF 1R 1R 2R 2R 3R A 1R A 0 / 13 9-13
Miami A 1R 2R A 2R 1R QF A F QF 3R 2R 3R 2R 2R A 2R 0 / 13 19-13
Monte Carlo A 1R 2R 2R A 1R QF SF 1R A 1R 1R 1R A A A 1R 0 / 11 8-11
Rome A 2R A 1R 1R F SF SF 3R SF 1R 1R 1R Q1 A A 1R 0 / 12 20-12
Hamburg A 3R 1R QF 2R A 1R F 1R A QF 1R Q2 A A A A 0 / 9 12-9
Canada A 1R A A A A A 2R 1R 2R 3R 1R A A A A A 0 / 6 4-6
Cincinnati A A A A A 1R A QF QF 2R 3R 1R A 3R A A A 0 / 7 9-7
Stockholm/Essen/Stuttgart A A QF QF W F F 2R QF 2R QF 1R 1R 3R A A A 1 / 12 22-11
Paris A A 2R 2R SF W QF 1R 1R A 1R Q1 Q1 2R A A A 1 / 9 12-8
Tennis Masters Cup A A A A SF SF RR A SF A A A A RR A A A 0 / 5 13-7
Grand Slam Cup Not Held QF A SF A SF W F A QF A Not Held 1 / 6 11-5
ATP Tournaments Won 0 0 1 1 4 3 2 1 5 3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 22
Year End Ranking 371 40 9 16 4 7 5 10 4 15 12 62 129 12 243 657 266

Doubles performance timeline

Yugoslavia Croatia
Tournament 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 SR
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open A 1R 2R 1R 1R A 2R A A 1R 1R A 1R A A A A 0 / 8
French Open A 3R F 2R 1R QF A A A 1R 1R F 2R A A A A 0 / 9
Wimbledon A 3R 1R 2R 1R 3R A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 5
US Open A 3R 2R 2R 2R 2R A A 2R QF 1R 1R A A A A A 0 / 9
Grand Slam SR 0 / 0 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 31
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells NMS 1R 1R 1R A 2R A 2R A 2R A 2R A 1R A A 0 / 8
Miami NMS 2R A A 3R 3R A A 2R 3R 1R 3R A A A A 0 / 7
Monte Carlo NMS 1R 1R A 1R 1R QF 2R A A A 1R A A A A 0 / 7
Rome NMS A W SF QF 1R QF 2R 1R SF 1R 1R A A A 1R 1 / 11
Hamburg NMS 2R 2R 1R A 2R A 2R A 1R A 1R A A A A 0 / 7
Canada NMS A A A A A 1R 1R 1R 2R QF A A A A A 0 / 5
Cincinnati NMS A A A 1R A 1R 1R 1R A 1R A 1R A A A 0 / 6
Stuttgart/Madrid NMS QF 2R 2R A A 1R SF A SF 1R QF 1R A A A 0 / 9
Paris NMS 1R 2R 2R A A 1R A A A A A A A A A 0 / 4
Masters Series SR N/A 0 / 6 1 / 6 0 / 5 0 / 4 0 / 5 0 / 6 0 / 7 0 / 4 0 / 6 0 / 5 0 / 6 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 1 / 64
Year End Ranking 139 49 31 24 42 111 122 58 59 69 68 51 125 493 1137 - 542

Post-playing

Senior tennis tour and other engagements

Right after retiring from the ATP Tour in 2004, Ivanišević started playing on the ATP Champions Tour (seniors' circuit).

In 2005, he was a member of the Croatian team for the Davis Cup final against Slovakia in Bratislava, although he did not play. Croatia won the final 3-2. Ivanišević received a winner's medal and his name was engraved on the trophy along with Mario Ančić, Ivo Karlović, Ivan Ljubičić and team captain Nikola Pilić.

In June 2006, he performed in the Calderstones Park tournament in Liverpool. In November of the same year, Ivanišević won the Merrill Lynch Tour of Champions tournament in Frankfurt, defeating John McEnroe 7-6(12), 7-6(1).

In 2007, Roger Federer, seeking his 5th consecutive Wimbledon title against Rafael Nadal in the final, practiced with Ivanišević. Federer said the practice session helped him against Nadal:

Well, I mean, it's good to have hit at least half an hour with a lefty before the finals because I've played against six right handers. So, of course, it's hard to come into a match and you play a lefty. Especially on the returns, I always feel it. The entire points are played in a different manner. Where usually you go backhand cross‑court, with Rafa I have to go backhand long line. I asked Goran yesterday if he wanted to hit with me. He said, Sure, I'm around. I was very happy he did that.

As of 2015, Ivanišević still takes part in tournaments on the seniors' circuit.

Investments

Retiring in 2004 also allowed then 33-year-old Ivanišević to devote more attention to investing in the real-estate and construction industries, which he had already been involved with since 1998, conducting his business through the Croatia-registered limited liability company called Sport Line (based in Split). Since Ivanišević was still an active tennis player when the venture got established, most of the company's initial day-to-day business was handled by his father Srdjan. Their main activity was an ambitious undertaking — construction of "Lazarica 2", a 65-unit luxury apartment building in the Split neighbourhood of Firule, which was supposed to start in November 1998 and finish by late 2000. After many delays, the project finally completed in 2003, but dragged the company in debt due to many unsold units.

News of Ivanišević's financial problems first appeared in summer 2005 after he talked about it in an interview with Globus newsmagazine, admitting Lazarica 2 was a "failed project", as well as later that year when he talked to the Daily Telegraph about losing substantial amount of money in some of his investments.

After much speculation throughout spring 2006, Ivanišević joined with AC Milan footballer Dario Šimić, former basketball player Ivica Žurić as well as businessmen Marijan Šarić, Mate Šarić, and Batheja Pramod in September 2006 to jointly invest HRK93 million (~€12.5 million) for the purposes of added market capitalization of Karlovačka banka. Ivanišević, Šimić, and Žurić each invested HRK19 million (~€2.5 million), thus each obtaining 9% ownership stake in the bank.

Ivanišević's finances became the subject of news reports again in August 2010 when it was reported that his Sunseeker Predator 72 motor yacht got repossessed by Hypo Leasing Kroatien, a subsidiary of Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International after reportedly a full year of Ivanišević failing to meet his monthly lease payments of €12,000. Ivanišević would deny this, saying that the yacht was returned due to mechanical defect.

On 31 January 2013, Ivanišević's company Sport Line filed papers for bankruptcy settlement proceedings before the Croatian Trade Court after accumulating debts of HRK5.7 million. Among the list of entities the company reportedly owed money to is the Croatian government in the amount of HRK1.1 million.

Sports administration

In August 2005 Ivanišević got voted to be one of four vice-presidents of the Croatian Olympic Committee (HOO) working under president Zlatko Mateša.

Coaching

In 2013 Ivanišević began coaching compatriot Marin Čilić, who won the 2014 US Open under his guidance.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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