The former Grand Slam champion who is the only player in tennis history to be disqualified for smashing all his rackets mid-match

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It’s rare to find a tennis player who hasn’t smashed a racket on the odd occasion during their time on tour.

But it’s even more uncommon to find a player who was actually disqualified mid-match because they had destroyed all of the rackets they brought with them entirely.

Enter the stage, Goran Ivanisevic who made history in 2001 when trying to qualify for the Australian Open when he had to surrender his match because he no longer had a racket to play with.

For those who don’t remember Ivanisevic’s career well, the now 53-year-old won Wimbledon back in 2001 as a qualifier – the only player to ever do so.

And in terms of the former world number two’s other record, a rank he achieved in 1994, well it’s a little bit less glamorous.

Goran Ivanisevic was disqualified from a match for smashing all of his rackets

Speaking in a recent interview with Croatian football manager Slaven Bilic, Ivanisevic shared the amazing story of when he once wrecked all three of his rackets that he took to two matches that he needed to win to qualify for the Australian Open’s main draw.

The Croatian needed to win two rounds and after breaking one racket in first round win, he was then left with two thereafter, two rackets who lived a brief life on the tour.

Ivanisevic explained: “I had to win two rounds in 2001 to be able to enter the Australian Open [at Brighton tournament].

“I couldn’t beat anyone, literally. I couldn’t. I came with three rackets. By chance I won the first round and broke a racket.

READ MORE: Who Goran Ivanisevic said was the hardest player he ever had to face in his tennis career – Pete Sampras or Roger Federer

“I am playing the second round, I know what this match means. If I win I am in the main draw, if not I am in the qualifiers. 

“I already broke one racket at the start, I have one more left. In the third set I have 8000 break points. I don’t convert any. I had one more racket, I thought should I, shouldn’t I?

“I say to myself, screw the Australian Open and I smash it. Now there is a problem. This has never happened in the history of tennis.

“The head referee comes over and asked me what do we do? [I say] why are you asking me? You’re the head referee. He said ‘I don’t know, we don’t have a rule for this’. Can you borrow a racket? I said I can’t and I won’t.

“He says ok, due to a lack of equipment, I have to forfeit the match. That is how I entered inglorious history. In the end I played the qualifiers, lost in the first round.”

How Goran Ivanisevic shocked the world and won Wimbledon

Fortunately Ivanisevic’s brilliant story telling didn’t stop there – he also spoke about how he beat Tim Henman on route to winning Wimbledon as a qualifier in 2001, another moment that will forever remain in the history books.

Ivanisevic said: “After the second round I felt that I was playing good tennis. But what can I say? I’m ranked 128th. 

“I am happy that I got a wild card, an invitation for Wimbledon. I am serving well, moving well. I beat Moya, who was a seed, and Roddick, and Safin and Rusedski.

“They couldn’t break my serve. My serve brought me back and everything clicked.

READ MORE: The tennis surface Roger Federer claimed was ‘too easy’ to play on as you didn’t need a serve or a volley on it

“Now comes the big match against Henman. For the first time he is playing a semi-final that is not against Sampras. So he is basically in the final already. I watch the news – Henman Day! Henman this, we have a finalist!

“I think slow down! Then what happened, happened. With the rain. I have to say that the rain saved me. When the match was interrupted he was simply better than me. I didn’t know what to do.

“That rain came, it didn’t come by accident. It came with a purpose. It came just at the right moment. That day, I knew when we didn’t return to the court it was seven in the evening.

“Alan Mills, the referee came and he said you’re going home. We will continue tomorrow. I knew that was it. I told my coach, that’s it, we are winning. He said no chance! I saw his face the next day.

“Every time I stepped on the court I saw his face and the match kept getting interrupted, it lasted three days, and his facial expression kept getting worse and worse. I was getting better and he was getting worse!”

A brilliantly emotional character on the court, and the kind of personality that will never be forgotten, especially when he’s so good at telling these stories.