Goran Ivanisevic defied the odds when he won Wimbledon as a wildcard entrant back in 2001.
The Croatian player took out Tim Henman in a rain-affected semi-final and then defeated Pat Rafter in a final which took place on a Monday afternoon.
It was the defining moment for Ivanisevic in a brilliant career which saw him win 22 singles titles and reach number two in the world rankings.
The big-serving player never really got close to winning any of the other major titles, with a semi-final at the US Open in 1996 as close as he came prior to his glorious year at Wimbledon.
After retiring from tennis, he embarked on a career in coaching and most notably helped Novak Djokovic win a glut of titles from 2019 to 2024.
Photo by Borna Jaksic/Pixsell/MB Media/Getty ImagesWhat Goran Ivanisevic really hates about modern tennis
It would appear that Ivanisevic is still keen to stay involved in tennis and still speaks fondly of the game to a certain extent, even though he’s currently inactive.
Ivanisevic began the year coaching Elena Rybakina as he entered the female game for the first time in his career, but that didn’t last long.
Now, he’s appeared on a podcast in his native Croatia alongside former footballer Slaven Bilic, and he’s shared the one thing he hates about modern-day tennis.
He said: “What I don’t like in tennis now is too many tournaments. No sport is like tennis, where the year ends if you reach the Davis Cup final. You have Torino, Masters in November, and by mid-December, you must go to Australia. How is that normal? It’s impossible. You need rest, prep for Australia.
“Some matches last year ended at 4am. 4am! No way you will be ready. You got to sleep, reach the hotel, and it’s 7-8am. You sleep until 5pm and must play tomorrow.
“They have started changing things, but still. Matches can’t be played after 12. Too many tournaments, too many demands, it’s too much. Every week, two to three tournaments, every week something.”
Andy Murray will agree with Goran Ivanisevic on modern-day gripe
The three-time Grand Slam winner will absolutely agree with Ivanisevic on this after being critical himself of the scheduling at last year’s US Open.
He took to social media to bemoan the scheduling of the tournament with some matches running until 3am in the morning in New York.
Murray said on X: “The tennis scheduling situation is a total mess. It looks so amateurish having matches go on at 2, 3, 4am. Sort it out.”
Thankfully, this is one thing that will never happen at Wimbledon and perhaps it’s time other tournaments followed suit with their curfew.
Elite athletes need the best conditions possible and furthermore, it’s unholy to expect fans to remain in stadiums until such an hour to watch sport.
Hopefully the ATP and WTA can come together to devise better scheduling at events and if legends of the game such as Murray and Ivanisevic have an issue, it’s definitely worth looking at.