London: A picture of Goran Ivanisevic holding up the 2001 Wimbledon trophy hangs outside one of the All England Club's interview rooms and a glimpse of it still evokes powerful memories for his fellow Croatians.
Ivan Ljubicic knows the towering left-hander better than most and as he entered the small cubicle after his first-round win over compatriot Marin Cilic, it did not take the world number 33 long to recall Ivanisevic's triumph.
"For me, and I'm sure for a lot of Croatians, it was the biggest emotional moment of my life. Definitely tennis and career-wise," the 32-year-old told Reuters.
"Everybody I know cried when he won," added Ljubicic, who escaped war-torn Bosnia aged 13 in 1992 and was one of several players taken to Italy by a club that was reaching out to help children.
Ivanisevic's famous Monday victory over Australian Pat Rafter, the pinnacle of the Croatian's career after three losses in Wimbledon finals, gave his countrymen hope.
"For us, it broke the ice. I had to go through all the small steps to break through," said Ljubicic, who climbed from world number 91 to 37 in the year of Ivanisevic's win.
"Then the others followed. Ivo Karlovic, Zeljko Krajan, then of course Mario Ancic and Ivan Dodig, and Cilic now."
Karlovic, another giant who served 78 aces in a six-hour Davis Cup match in 2009, said Ivanisevic's breakthrough had been the "beginning" for tennis in Croatia.
"It's a little country; there was a war and it was not easy for any of us. Our tennis federation is not as rich as others, so they couldn't really help us a lot," the 32-year-old told Reuters after booking his spot in the second round.
"I think with Ivanisevic, it brought along a lot of young tennis players who wanted to become good. With Ivanisevic's success, it was the beginning."
Not only did it inspire a whole host of professionals, it also brought a traditionally elitist sport to the masses.
IVANISEVIC EFFECT
"Because of Goran, a lot of kids started playing tennis," Ljubicic, the ATP Player Council's president from 2006-08, said.
Rather than stall in their progress, however, after Ivanisevic's retirement in 2004, the Croatian youth have had the examples of Ljubicic and Karlovic to follow.
"For the kids now, they still remember Goran, but they've seen us practising next to them and taking these steps and they know getting to the top 100 is not something incredible," Ljubicic added.
"Solid top-50, top-30 players like myself, who have the potential to get to the top 10, that gives kids more hope and energy and belief that they can actually do it," said the former world number three.
"It's not like in Serbia with Novak Djokovic or Switzerland with Roger Federer. Yes you have the best players but they cannot be the guideline. They can be an idol but you cannot look at them and say yes I can do that," Ljubicic added.
For Ljubicic and world number 144 Karlovic, both unseeded like their friend Ivanisevic 10 years ago, lifting the Wimbledon title remains a distant dream but the countrymen would at least like to make it through to the second week.
"Goran was in London last week for some exhibition matches. We had dinner together and had some fun. He will be back next week. Hopefully, I will also be here," said the 2.08-metre Karlovic before grinning as he bowed his head under the doorframe.
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