Croatia hails Ivanisevic win

By CNN's Avril Stephens

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Croatian Goran Ivanisevic thanked the All England tennis club -- and God -- for his victory at Wimbledon.

The tennis star, who had been given the odds of 125-1 to win at the beginning of the tournament, was deemed to have so little chance of winning that he was given a wildcard to play in the championship. Normally unseeded players have to play in qualifying rounds.

He is the first wildcard to win at Wimbledon -- or any Grand Slam title.

After defeating Australia's Pat Rafter in the final, he said: "When I came here, nobody even talked about me.

"Now, I'm holding this trophy.

"I would like to thank the All England Club for giving me the wildcard."

But Ivanisevic had a belief that God was on his side during the tournament -- his fourth attempt at winning following previous defeats by Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.

After he beat Britain's Tim Henman in a mammoth semi-final stretched over three days, Ivanisevic said: "Destiny is on my side. I think God wants me to win.

"He sent the rain when I was in trouble on Friday. I got a wildcard into the tournament, I am in the final, it is destiny."

During the final he looked up to the skies for inspiration, and after coming through to win in five thrilling sets on Monday, he said he could not have coped with losing.

"I thought 'Oh God, not again. Please God, what have I done to deserve this. I wanted to win so badly.'"

The Croatian Church in Clapham, southwest London, where Ivanisevic has taken Mass, thanked God for answering their prayers.

Sister Zora Stojnovc told CNN: "Deep down I thought he was going to win and hoped so, but it was difficult.

"From the beginning I thought God would give him a chance. I thank God for his victory."

Ivanisevic's home football club Hajduk Split, where the 6ft 4in has been asked to use his strong left foot on the pitch, predicted the whole of the town would be celebrating.

Daniel Durdov, a spokesman for the club, said: "There will be a great celebration in all the city. All the 250,000 inhabitants will be on the streets."

Ivanisevic crosses himself after getting through the semis

Ivanisevic, who has one of the most blistering serves in the game of tennis, has practised with his hometown club during 1997 and was offered a place in the team.

The Croatian community is one of the smallest in London but all were sitting in front of their televisions as the sensational final unfolded.

The Croatian ambassador to the UK and his wife, meanwhile, watched the match at Wimbledon.

A spokeswoman for the embassy told CNN before the game: "They will going instead of the president and prime minister, but we hope there will be some more Croatians in the crowd.

"We are sure there will be lots behind him, and the ambassador is expected to speak to, and pass on, a message from the whole country.

"There is a lot of excitement, and we hope it will be his year."

'911 Goran'

Ivanisevic was many of the capacity crowd's favourite, despite knocking out two British players en route to the final.

His explosive character makes him a colourful player on the tennis circuit. He says of himself that he has three characters -- "Nice Goran," "Crazy Goran," and "911 Goran" -- who is strictly for emergencies only.

The 29-year-old had slumped out of the world's top 100 earlier this year after an appalling 2000.

He does not try to hide his unmitigated joy or despair. He will pull off his shirt in exuberance or smash his tennis rackets in frustration. During a tournament in Brighton recently he was forced to retire against an unknown after breaking all his rackets.

Durdov added: "He is an unusual character, but is a charismatic man."

After his win over Rafter he fell back on to the ground before standing up and clutching both hands on his head. He then went to the net where he and Rafter hugged.

Ivanisevic, his face contorted as tears fell, then ran into the stands and hugged his father.

Two years ago Ivanisevic had a tattoo needled on to his shoulder depicting a cross, shark and red rose.

"A cross is a cross, I have a rose, which means love. And a shark is a mean, mean animal. All together, it's me," he explained.

Although the multi-millionaire now lives in Monte Carlo he remains passionate about his Croatian roots -- carrying the flag for Croatia at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.