The day that the rain came down, Goran Ivanisevic knew that his days as Wimbledon's nearly man were over.
In a rain-interrupted semi-final that stretched over three days in 2001, British favourite Tim Henman had him on the ropes. But the heavens saved the mercurial Croat who went on to become the first wildcard ever to win a grand slam tournament.
Returning to the scene of his greatest triumph and glancing up at the rain clouds swirling over Wimbledon, he said "Rain can do good things like it did to me against Tim.
"But it can do confusion. You win, you stop, you come back. But you have to try and stay calm."
"It was meant to be. This first rain stop against Tim was for some reason. After that I knew I was going to win," the charismatic left-hander said.
Photographs: Getty Images | Text: Reuters
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