Ivanisevic's dream run continues

By Nirmal Shekar

LONDON, JULY 4. If and when Goran Ivanisevic uses the magic wand of his left hand to extend his Wimbledon 2001 fairytale to its logical conclusion, he would have, the records will tell you, conquered seven successive opponents on a Grand Slam stage for the first time in his career.

What the record books will not reveal is the presence of an eighth opponent, one that the gifted Croatian left-hander, who sailed past the fourth seeded Marat Safin of Russia 7-6(2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6(3) and into the semifinals in egg-frying Indian summer temperatures on the centre court on Wednesday, has never before successfully overcome in a Grand Slam in a dozen years - Goran Ivanisevic.

From the time he burst on the scene in the late 1980s as a teenaged ace-merchant with the heavy artillery to blow anybody off the court, Ivanisevic's single biggest opponent during moments that have mattered in his career has been himself.

And, looking back, if Ivanisevic, now world ranked 125, is proud of anything at all this fortnight it will be about how he has accomplished this remarkable self-conquest.

As you watched the now-familiar shirt-ripping celebration on the centre court today, it was difficult to imagine that this was the very player who had struggled to put two balls in a row in play in a first round match at the Queen's Club event last fortnight, that this was the man who had talked about retirement rather seriously a few months ago.

Was this the fella who, before accepting a wild card into this tournament, had won just five Grand Slam matches since finishing runner-up to Pete Sampras here in 1998?

And then, when his career is done, Ivanisevic will ponder the irony of it all...how the last was the very best, how it never came when he wanted it to, when he was sure it would but finally did when did not think it would even in his wildest dreams.

Then again, the turn of events is quite in the order of things when you put it in perspective, when you assess it from the point of view of the man's unique character as a player, as a human being. With Goran, you learn to expect the unexpected.

``I've never been happier in my life. All the three times I was in the finals here, I was expected to get there. This year from nowhere I have got to the semifinals,'' said Ivanisevic. ``Maybe this is my last chance. Now I expect to win the championship. I'd be disappointed if I don't.''

Even by his own special standards, his joyride this fortnight, something in which everybody has taken part gleefully, has been a remarkable believe-it-or-not tale.

Given his form and grass court pedigree, Ivanisevic did go into today's match against Safin as something of a favourite. But the Russian, working under the most expensive coach in the men's game, a certain Mats Wilander, has slowly lifted himself off the floor this summer when he has been plagued by back trouble.

But, as well as he did in patches, it was obvious that Safin has a lot to learn on grass. He did bring off some good volleys, including a Boris Becker-style diving winner at a crucial point in the 10th game of the fourth set.

Yet, overall, it was clear that Safin has some way to go, tactically and psychologically, before he can hope to become the first Russian to win the men's singles title here.

``He was too good today. I couldn't do anything special to beat him,'' said Safin. ``I am disappointed. Sampras is out and anything is possible now. It is not Sampras in the semifinals. So it is not a good result for me.''

Ivanisevic, for his part, played the first two sets like a champion, suffered a bit of a letdown in the third, especially on serve, even as the Russian fought back with courage. And in the end, the Croatian did rather well to close out the match in four sets. The younger man would definitely have been a frontrunner had it gone into a decider.

In the first set, Safin fought off two setpoints on serve in the 10th game but Ivanisevic ran away with the tiebreak. In the second, the Croatian broke the Russian's serve in the 11th game with a well timed lob and then served out the set in the next.

It was one poor service game from Ivanisevic - who hit 30 aces today to take his five-match total to 150 - in the third set that let Safin back into the match. The mercurial left-hander sent down three double faults and Safin hit a pair of lovely backhand winners to go up 4-2.

Having done that, Safin fended off two breakpoints on his own serve in the next game and then held his own for the most part in the fourth set.

But, then, the problem for Safin on grass is that he doesn't have a Plan B. When his normal game doesn't work, he seems lost. Wilander, who won two Australian titles on grass, might have some meaningful contribution to make. The partnership has just begun.

After all, Safin lost serve just once in the match today. And when he improves his second serve and learns to be a little more flexible on court, he could be a handful even to acknowledged grass court masters like Ivanisevic.

Both players won an equal number of points (101) on serve but where Ivanisevic was superior was in the return games - largely because of the poor quality of the Russian's second delivery - where he won 47 to Safin's 33.

About the time Safin took control of his nerves and the rallies on court to serve out the third set and take Ivanisevic into a fourth, the two-time U.S.Open champion and third seed, Pat Rafter of Australia, was packing his bags on the No.1 court after another routine day at the office.

Rafter sails through

The handsome Australian raced into the semifinals for the third straight year with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(5) thrashing of the robotic Swede Thomas Enqvist.

Rafter got off the blocks like Michael Schumacher from pole position on the grid and was a long way ahead when the Swede suddenly came alive, like a toy robot whose batteries had momentarily revved back to life.

``My serve fell off a little bit in the third set. Maybe I relaxed a little bit,'' said Rafter.

Enqvist broke Rafter's serve for the first time in the match in the third game of the third set with some good returns but Rafter broke back to take the set into a tiebreak where he opened up a 6-2 lead in quick time.

Perhaps a touch over-anxious to get away from the heat - not of the battle but of the court itself - Rafter dumped an easy high volley into the net on his first matchpoint. The Swede won the next two on his serve before the Australian fired an ace to close out the match.

The results (prefix denotes seedings):

Men's singles (quarterfinals): 3- Patrick Rafter (Aus) bt 10- Thomas Enqvist (Swe) 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7- 5); Goran Ivanisevic (Cro) bt 4-Marat Safin (Rus) 7-6 (7-2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3).

Women's singles (quarterfinals): 3- Lindsay Davenport (U.S.) bt 7-Kim Clijsters (Bel) 6-1, 6-2.

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