Tennis: Super Mario to play Heineken

Mario Ancic has stepped out of the shadow of his illustrious counterpart Goran Ivanisevic. Picture / Reuters

Although the British press dubbed him Super Mario in 2002, it's little wonder Mario Ancic is more commonly known as Baby Goran.

That's Goran as in Ivanisevic, Croatia's most famous tennis export who won the 2001 Wimbledon title and even had an official stamp released in his honour.

There is the obvious 13-year age difference, a grand slam title and a mere US$18 million in prize money that separates the two, but it's uncanny how similar Ivanisevic and Ancic are.

They were both born in Split, they both live in Monte Carlo and both weigh 81kg - there's even only 2cm height difference (Ivanisevic is 1.93m, Ancic 1.95m).

Ancic, like a lot of Croatian tennis players, idolises Ivanisevic and even started practising with the big-serving left-hander from the age of 10. He also has a lot of similar on-court mannerisms and even acted as a ballboy for his hero during a Davis Cup tie with Australia in 1996.

It's somewhat significant, therefore, that Ancic emerged from Ivanisevic's considerable shadow last week with Croatia's breakthrough win in the Davis Cup final.

When Slovakia's Michal Mertinak hit the ball long one final time to hand Ancic a straight-sets victory, Ancic had a quick, but poignant look into the stands at Ivanisevic, before he was swamped by his team-mates.

"He is a great rock of support for us all," Ancic said in tribute to his idol. "This is our victory. This is Croatia's victory. I am not sure people realise how big it is to be at the top of the pyramid."

Ivanisevic came out of retirement to be included in the squad, and had been tipped to play in the doubles, but had to watch from courtside as Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic carried their country to their first Davis Cup title.

"The only time I have been happier was when I won Wimbledon," said Ivanisevic, who lost his voice after three days of shouting. "I place the Davis Cup a close second behind my Wimbledon title. The Davis Cup win was the perfect way to finish my tennis life."

Ancic, though, is only beginning his tennis journey. Just 21 years old, he will come to Auckland in January for the Heineken Open as the tournament's likely fifth seed, following the entry debacle over the higher-ranked Juan Carlos Ferrero.

Ancic was due to have played this year before injury forced his withdrawal but his presence at Stanley St will mean at least two players from the Davis Cup final will descend on Auckland - Dominik Hrbaty will be the fourth seed but there are doubts about the participation of Karol Beck after the Slovakian was reported to have recently failed a drugs test.

Ancic will bring a huge serve in his tennis arsenal. Although he sent down only the 14th-fastest bomb recorded on tour in 2005, when he served one at 225km/h at a tournament in Rotterdam, he ranks second behind Roddick for percentage of points won on his first serve (79 per cent), third behind Roddick and Ljubicic in the number of aces served on tour in 2005 (736), and fifth on the percentage of service games won (86 per cent).

Perhaps more significantly, however, he will also bring a huge amount of confidence from what has been a successful 2005, when he not only helped Croatia to their Davis Cup triumph but also claimed his first ATP tour singles title in June. "This has been a spectacular year for me," he enthused - 2006 is expected to mark his arrival into the world's top 20.

Although he made his Davis Cup debut as a 15-year-old in 1999 and had played with Ivanisevic at the 2000 Sydney Olympics (they lost in the first round), he first came to international prominence in 2002. It was then that Ancic became the first teenager to win his debut match at Wimbledon on centre court since Bjorn Borg in 1973, beating the then ninth-ranked Roger Federer in four sets after having qualified for the main draw.

He followed that up with a fourth-round appearance at his Australian Open debut in 2003 before ending 2004 in the world's top 30, a year highlighted by a semifinal appearance at Wimbledon and his bronze medal from the doubles at the Athens Olympics when he teamed up with Ljubicic.

When Ancic disposed of Mertinak in clinical fashion to leave Croatia as only the 12th country to lift the Davis Cup, it left many believing the world's tennis axis had shifted - the US, Russia, Spain, Australia and Argentina had all been knocked out earlier in the competition. Thousands that braved the cold to welcome their heroes to Zagreb last week hope so.

Ancic will no doubt play a big part in any future success but once he brushes off the effects of a big week of celebrating, he will need to turn his attentions to what lays in store in 2006. There would be no better way than to pick up where he left off and he would undoubtedly love to celebrate another success with a few of the sponsor's products after a triumph in Auckland at the Heineken Open. It's what Goran would do.


- HERALD ON SUNDAY