Goran Ivanisevic no.1 in fan vote for Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2020
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
Goran Ivanisevic (Photo: Croatia Open)
3 October 2019 – Legendary Croatian tennis star Goran Ivanisevic has topped the fan vote for the International Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
Over the past five weeks, people from over 120 countries took part in the fan vote for the Hall of Fame induction and the results are in with Ivanisevic winning with the most votes.
The big-serving Croatian, who famously won Wimbledon as a wildcard in 2001, beat back-to-back Roland Garros champion Sergi Bruguera of Spain, Swede Jonas Bjorkman, and 1994 Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who have also been named to the ballot.
For winning the fan vote, Ivanisevic receives three bonus percentage points. Second place Martinez gets two percentage points and Bjorkman, in third place, gets one percentage point.
To be elected into the Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive 75 percent support from the official Hall voting panel, which includes Hall of Fame members, historians and reporters.
“Croatia’s Goran Ivanisevic’s serve-and-volley style of play led him to great success on the grass courts of Wimbledon where he was a quarterfinalist once, semifinalist twice, and finalist three times, before winning the title in 2001. That year, ranked world No. 125, the big-serving lefty was granted a wildcard into the tournament. In a magical run to the trophy, he knocked out three players who were former or future world No. 1s en route to a five-set battle with Patrick Rafter in the final. Ivanišević is a two-time Olympic medalist, having won a singles bronze and doubles bronze, both in 1992,” the International Hall of Fame writes.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame Class of 2020 will be officially announced during the Australian Open in January.
Five weeks, thousands of fan votes from 124 nations, and the results are in!
— Tennis Hall of Fame (@TennisHalloFame) October 2, 2019
Congratulations 👏
1️⃣ Goran Ivanisevic 🇭🇷
2️⃣ @conchitamartinz 🇪🇸
3️⃣ @BjorkmanTennis 🇸🇪
Stay tuned — Class of 2020 to be announced at Australian Open.
What’s next in process?
👉 https://t.co/p4sGKueozM pic.twitter.com/lLBfgMgyu8
“In today’s digital world, sports fans are more knowledgeable and connected to athletes than ever before. It makes sense to give them a voice in determining who will be the recipients of tennis’ ultimate honor. With votes coming in from more than 120 countries around the world, we’re glad to see that so many tennis fans have embraced Fan Voting as a means to engage with tennis history and stay connected with tennis greats beyond their playing days,” Todd Martin, International Tennis Hall of Fame CEO, said in a statement.
International Tennis Hall of Fame induction is the ultimate honor in tennis. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame recognizes an athlete’s achievements as being among the all-time best in the history of the sport. To date, the honor has been presented to just 257 tennis greats from 26 nations around the world, including legends like Andre Agassi, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Kim Clijsters, and Martina Hingis, among others.
