Dateline: 07/09/01

Goran Ivanisevic had virtually disappeared from professional tennis for the last two years, and, ranked 125 in the world, he got into this year's Wimbledon on a wild card granted by the tournament committee. In a rare rain-delayed Monday match, he became the first wild card ever to win a Grand Slam, defeating Patrick Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7.

Ivanisevic would likely be the most surprising champion ever if not for this being his fourth final. He had made three previous finals, in 1992, 1994, and 1998, only to lose. Goran had gained a reputation for suffering mental meltdowns of varying magnitudes. He held himself together well against Rafter, though, and his huge serve, the weapon that has made Wimbledon his best venue, came through when he needed it. Ivanisevic served 27 aces against Rafter, and a great many more service winners. He also broke his own Wimbledon record of 206 aces for the tournament, getting 213.

Goran's serving games generally went much more easily than Rafter's. Rafter's favorite serve, a twist (kick) serve that jumps up on the opponent, often gave the 6'4" Ivanisevic a ball at just the height he likes it. Ivanisevic returned well against the serve-and-volley attack Rafter attempted on almost every first and second serve throughout the match. Patrick's best serve against Goran was the jammer, where he would make the ball curve into Goran, giving that tall body a long way to go to get out of the way. Rafter's first serve percentage was below par, but what he needed most was a wide, sliding slice serve to make the left-handed Goran reach low on his two-handed backhand side. With a better slice serve, Rafter would almost certainly have won this match.

A better return of serve would also have saved Rafter. Ivanisevic's first serves were mostly in the 120's and placed in the deep corners of the service box. On those he could reach at all, Patrick often could just stab at the ball, not getting enough pace on his return to bother Goran, who also followed almost every serve to the net.

In the women's final, also delayed one day by rain, Venus Williams defeated Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 to take her second consecutive Wimbledon singles title Sunday.

Henin played well, showing impressive power for her size (5'6", 125 pounds) and good hands at the net, but Williams, playing in top form, was just too strong. Williams, at 6'1", has the biggest serve in women's tennis. That big serve, averaging 109 mph at this year's Wimbledon, is sometimes inconsistent, but it found its targets exceptionally well against Henin. Particularly troublesome to Henin was Williams's serve out wide in the deuce court, which she hit with a combination of topspin and slice, making the ball bounce up and away from Henin's rather limited reach.

Henin is best known for her crisp and powerful one-handed backhand, which she can hit with topspin, flat, or sliced. The slice proved the most effective tool against Williams, skidding low on the grass to make the tall two-hander bend for the ball, but Venus gets down to low balls much better than most tall players, and she had only limited trouble with Justine's slice. She also put a lot of pressure on Henin's passing shots with deep, hard approaches that gave Henin little time to prepare a stroke. With tremendous reach, quick feet, and excellent touch at the net, Venus is tough to pass or lob, and most of her ventures to net won her the point.

Other results:

Lisa Raymond and Rennae Stubbs won the women's doubles title over Kim Clijsters and Ai Sugiyama 6-4, 6-3.

Don Johnson and Jared Palmer took the men's doubles, defeating Jiri Novak and David Rikl 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

Leos Friedl and Daniela Hantuchova prevailed in the mixed doubles final against Mike Bryan and Liezel Huber 4-6 6-3 6-2.

Previous Features