WATCH: When Goran Ivanisevic let ball girl play during final in Queen's Club
ATP
Throughout his career, Goran Ivanisevic has always been the focal point of a tennis match—or at least he tries to be.
But not in the 1997 Cinch Championships final at Queen's when a ball girl stole the show. Ivanisevic, who secured a marathon three-set win over Greg Rusedski in the semifinal in a match that featured one of the longest tie-breaks in a best-of-three-set match on Tour (20-18), met Australia's Mark Philippoussis in the final.
The two players were known for their penchant for fast surfaces due to their muscular groundstrokes and booming serves. Sobreak pints or rallies are usually at a premium when players of such stature face off.
And that's how it turned out, as Philippoussis dominated the match. At one point, Ivanisevic literally gave up and handed his racket to a ball kid to try her luck, as can be seen in the video.
"Remembering the time @goranivanisevicofficial got a ball girl to take his place in the Queen’s final!"
To everyone's surprise, she managed to win the rally, as Philippoussis eventually kicked the ball into the net. However, it was obvious that she didn't have much experience with tennis, and the Australian bought the entertainment card.
Ivanisevic won one Grand Slam title in his career when he defeated Pat Rafter in five sets in the final of the 2001 Wimbledon Championships as a wild card.
The Croatian is now the head coach of 20-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and will try to lead him to another Wimbledon title, as prior to the tournament, he said he trusts the Serbian.
"Of course he can [recover quickly], and he does not have much of a choice, if we are being honest. He is the biggest favourite at Wimbledon, just like Rafa was here. Novak now needs to rest well and prepare for Wimbledon physically and mentally. I am sure that he can do it and I think he will win Wimbledon, I have a good feeling about that. He needs to focus on grass now."
