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Ivanisevic and Seles out of Wimbledon
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic has been forced to pull out of the championships which start here on June 23 for a second successive year because of injury.
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic has been forced to pull out of the championships which start here on June 23 for a second successive year because of injury.
The popular Croatian, Wimbledon champion in 2001, saw his chances of playing in the grasscourt Grand Slam evaporate when he injured knee ligaments while practising with compatriot Mario Ancic in London on Thursday.
After competing at the Queen's Club, the 31-year-old was due to continue his preparations in Nottingham, but has been forced to scrap those plans and also admitted defeat in his bid to be ready to play at Wimbledon, where he was also three-times runner-up.
Andre Agassi, who beat Ivanisevic in 1992 to claim his only Wimbledon title, said the championships would be poorer for the absence of the Croatian.
"His story at Wimbledon is one of the great stories in all sports.
"To see him not win so many times and then finally come through, well it's a beautiful relationship he has with the crowd at Wimbledon and it works both ways," Agassi added.
Former women's world number one Monica Seles has also withdrawn due to continuing problems with her foot.
The American, who was Wimbledon runner-up to Steffi Graf in 1992, struggled at the French Open where she lost in straight sets to Russia's Nadia Petrova in the first round.
Argentina's Mariana Diaz-Olivia and Anne Kremer of Luxembourg have also withdrawn and former men's world number one Marcelo Rios, who dislikes grass tournaments, is also out.
