Ivanisevic leaves them laughing

Tennis/Wimbledon 2004: Goran Ivanisevic can work a crowd. All he does is kick a tennis ball into the stand and grin like a fool. He can blow his nose on court, smash his racquet. They love it. His charm is elemental. Poor Tim Henman.

Ivanisevic lost to Lleyton Hewitt in three sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, yesterday. In defeat he stood still on centre court his arms spread, like some mad messiah. They cheered and roared and screamed his name. He took a Croatia football shirt out of his bag and put it on.

That one was premeditated but they forgave him. They cheered louder. Hewitt won the match and Ivanisevic the crowd. When he left yesterday barely restraining the tears, it was forever, his left shoulder a mess and time telling him this was it.

As his father had said earlier in the week, Goran had come to leave. He knew it. His lap of honour had been delayed for a few years while his chronic injury healed just enough to allow him one last effort.

Henman. He too won in three sets against Ivo Heuberger, a 28-year-old Swiss player whose sporting feats do not have them yodelling around the Alps. The crowd applauded when Henman beat the 135th-ranked player 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

When he came in for the press conference, the second question was: should the goal have stood ?

"Yes, absolutely. Swiss referees. Swiss opponent today. Had to make sure I got some revenge," said Henman. The locals hooted. For the number five seed that was a good effort.

A little less smugness next time and maybe the rest of Europe will laugh with him. But Ivanisevic held the centre court, the day and a rapidly degenerating command of English.

"I think another Goran is going to come," he advised after his match. "Safin (Marat) is close. But I don't understand him sometimes. He's Russian. Russians are . . . with me you know, sometimes I don't know what I'm saying and people always try to say what I mean in that moment. Sometimes its bad. But who cares. I said a lot of stupid things in my career that cost me. That's why people like me.

"When I'm talking in Croatian, you know . . . in English we don't have a lot of bad words. In Croatian I have a lot of bad words, I can write a book, I can make stories. One year they fine me $9,000 in Australian Open after they listened to the tape.

"Referee comes to me and says 'I never heard that much in my life, that somebody can swear so much'. How I sweared. It was like poetic, you know," he added before going on to his biggest tennis regret.

"(Not) being number one. But to be number two behind Pete Sampras. I didn't have any chance. Only I shoot him and I couldn't do that."

The other big seeds largely advanced although a couple of names fell by the way. Guillermo Coria, the French Open runner-up departed as did Britain's Greg Rusedski after a tumble in the fourth set injured his shoulder.

Sixth seed Juan Carlos Ferrero was also beaten, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1, in a third-round upset by American Bobby Ginepri.

Ferrero looked tired after his five-set second-round win on Thursday and offered only token resistance on court one.