From Injuries and Setbacks to a Wildcard
By the spring of 2001, Goran Ivanisevic's career seemed to be winding down. Years of shoulder problems had eroded his ranking and limited his playing schedule. He had lost three previous Wimbledon finals — to Andre Agassi in 1992, Pete Sampras in 1994 and Pete Sampras again in 1998 — and at thirty years old, many observers believed his best chances at the title had already slipped away permanently.
He entered the 2001 grass-court season without a main draw entry into Wimbledon based on his ranking. The All England Club considered granting him a wildcard, and there was genuine debate about the decision. Some felt his ranking did not justify a place in the main draw. Others pointed to his past Wimbledon results, his status as a crowd favourite, and the fact that his serve remained one of the most dangerous weapons in the sport on grass.
The wildcard was granted. Few expected him to go deep into the tournament. No one predicted what was about to happen.
The wildcard seemed like a sentimental gesture to a popular old champion on his way out. It turned out to be the beginning of the greatest fortnight of his life.
The Road to the Final
Ivanisevic opened his campaign against Swedish qualifier Fredrik Jonsson in the first round, winning in straight sets to get his tournament started. From there, the draw produced a succession of increasingly difficult opponents, each of whom he managed to beat with a combination of his still-lethal serve and growing momentum.
The semi-final against British hope Tim Henman became a tournament within a tournament, stretched across three separate days by rain delays. Each time the match was suspended, the tension ratcheted up further. Henman had support from a Centre Court crowd that desperately wanted him to reach the final, but Ivanisevic served his way through 5–7, 6–7, 6–3, 6–2, 9–7 to reach his fourth Wimbledon final. The Croatian had already revived a career many had written off.
The "People's Monday" Final vs Pat Rafter
The final against Australian serve-and-volleyer Pat Rafter had been delayed by rain and was eventually played on a Monday — unusual for a Wimbledon final. The All England Club sold tickets on general release for the extra day, and the atmosphere inside Centre Court was unlike anything the old stadium had heard before. Croatian and Australian fans traded chants and songs. It was louder than a traditional Wimbledon crowd by a considerable margin.
Rafter was himself a popular champion, a two-time US Open winner playing what would prove to be among his final major matches before injury and retirement. The match produced everything that tennis could offer.
Ivanisevic took the first set 6–3, Rafter responded by winning the second 6–3, and the match swung back and forth throughout the afternoon. The Croat claimed the third set 6–3 before Rafter forced a decider by winning the fourth 6–2.
In the fifth set, tension was visible on both players. Ivanisevic double-faulted on match point, then served two more before finally converting. He fell to the grass, lay there for several seconds and then collapsed into tears as the reality of what he had just achieved hit him.
He became the first wildcard ever to win the Wimbledon singles title, and through the 2023 tournament, the only wildcard to win any Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era.
Legacy of the 2001 Wimbledon Win
Ivanisevic's 2001 Wimbledon victory is still discussed as one of tennis's greatest feel-good stories. It combined every element that sport can produce at its best: a fallen star fighting his own body and confidence, carrying the weight of three previous final defeats, lifting the most famous trophy in his sport in front of a crowd that had willed him across the finish line for years.
The Monday final gave the tournament an atmosphere it rarely produces. The combination of general-sale tickets, two charismatic serve-and-volleyers, and the unique circumstances of Goran's wildcard run created something that regular Wimbledon finalists — with ranked entries and organised fan sections — simply cannot replicate.
Ivanisevic was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2020, and his 2001 title is central to that recognition. But beyond the official honour, the story lives on because it reminded everyone watching that sport's most powerful moments happen when the result genuinely cannot be predicted — and when a player's entire career seems to depend on the next point.