SPORTS NEWS

  July 10, 2001

Big Wins at Wimbledon

Venus Williams scores her second straight title while underdog Goran Ivanisevic wins a thrilling match

Tennis stars Venus Williams and Goran Ivanisevic may be sharing this year’s Wimbledon spotlight, but the two champs came from totally different sides of the court. On Sunday, Williams’ second Wimbledon win in a row hardly surprised fans of the U.S. tennis sensation. But in the men’s final on Monday, Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic stunned the world. He became only the second player to win tennis’ biggest title without being ranked among the tournament's 16 best players. The first was Boris Becker in 1985.

A Center Court Surprise

Ivanisevic’s victory was so surprising that even he couldn’t believe it. After three hours of tough tennis on Wimbledon's Center Court in London, England, Ivanisevic, a three-time runner-up at Wimbledon, defeated Australian Patrick Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7. “I think I'm dreaming,” he said. “Somebody is going to wake me up and tell me, ‘Man, you didn't win.’”

Ivanisevic’s win will rank as one of the most memorable Wimbledon victories in tennis history. He was ranked 125th in the world and almost didn’t make it to Wimbledon. He entered the tournament as what is called a wild card player and became the first wild card ever to win at Wimbledon. Australian and Croatian tennis fans who were lucky enough to get tickets to the match were among the loudest fans ever to watch a Wimbledon final.

Another Victory for Venus

History was also made at Wimbledon on Sunday when Venus Williams became the first woman to win back-to-back Wimbledon titles since Steffi Graf in 1995 and 1996. Williams beat Belgian Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. Holding the championship trophy is nothing new for Venus, though. Last year, she became the first African American woman to win at Wimbledon since Althea Gibson in 1958. Since July 2000, Venus has won three major singles titles and two Olympic gold medals. Even so, winning never gets tiresome for the tennis superstar. “I love Wimbledon,” she said. “It's going to be a great place for me for years to come.”

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