Each year we invite 6 of the games greats to entertain you on Centre Court at The Mere.
Goran will always be best remembered for his historic Wimbledon win in 2001. He became the only wildcard ever to win the Championships having been a finalist on three previous occasions. After a rain interrupted week, he won on “People’s Monday” in a drama filled five set match against Pat Rafter. Away from the All England Club, Goran reached a career high ranking of 2 and won 19 singles titles in his career. His trademark lefty serve saw him frequently delivering over 2000 aces a year.
Off the court, Goran is a passionate football fan supporting Hajduk Split and West Bromwich Albion. He currently coaches Novak Djokovic. Goran is married and has 3 children.
HAND USED: Right
HEIGHT: 6’5’’
HIGHEST RANK SINGLES: 8
HIGHEST RANK DOUBLES: 18
Singles Titles 11 | Doubles Titles 3
CAREER EARNINGS: $6,984,682
GRAND SLAM RECORD
Singles Australian Open 4R (‘80/99/00/04)
French Open 4R (1997/2000)
Wimbledon F (2003)
US Open F(1998)
I get goosebumps every time I go to the UK because of the British crowds. The British fans are incredible, they have such a great appreciation for tennis.
Mark burst onto the scene at 19 years old when he knocked top seed Pete Sampras out of the Australian Open. Soon it became clear that a big serving star had been born. He once again had Sampras on the rocks four years later at Wimbledon and, whilst leading, tore a cartilage in his knee forcing him to retire. Despite injury troubles, Mark still reached two Grand Slam finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open. He also played a vital role in the Australian Davis Cup team who defeated France in 1999.
Mark now lives in San Diego with his wife Silvana and baby son Nicholas, where he can fulfil his passion for surfing every day. He is a regular face at Champions Tour events around the world and has recently launched his own clothing line, Phlip Apparel.
HAND USED: Right
HEIGHT: 6’5’’
HIGHEST RANK SINGLES: 8
HIGHEST RANK DOUBLES: 18
Singles Titles 11 | Doubles Titles 3
CAREER EARNINGS: $6,984,682
GRAND SLAM RECORD
Singles
Australian Open 4R (‘80/99/00/04)
French Open 4R (1997/2000)
Wimbledon F (2003)
US Open F(1998)
The Swede with an English sense of humour, Mikael has a golf handicap of three, proving that all ball sports are his forte. It would be difficult to find anyone with a finer touch or a wider array of shots. Mikael lives in Florida with Kristina and their children, Figge and Bella.
Mikael reached the French Open Final in 1986 on his first appearance at Roland Garros. He won the Masters Series event in Canada and is famously remembered for losing at Wimbledon to Connors after leading by two sets and 4-1. His career was severely blighted by injury, otherwise he would have surely won many more titles.
HAND USED: Right
HEIGHT: 5’8”
HIGHEST RANK SINGLES: 10
HIGHEST RANK DOUBLES: 32
Singles Titles 3 | Doubles Titles 1
CAREER EARNINGS: $1,363,793
GRAND SLAM RECORD
Singles
French Open F (1986)
Wimbledon 4R (1986/87)
US Open 4R (1989)
Australian Open Q (1990)
I love British comedy. It’s sarcastic humour, and that works well for me.
One of the most naturally talented players to have played the game, Henri has won armies of fans with his flamboyant style and mischievous sense of humour. The former French playboy who loves Champagne, cigars and fast cars, may still like those things but is now very settled with his partner Maya Dowlatshahi, Henri is father to four children.
Henri reached the French Open final in 1998 where he was beaten by Mats Wilander. He won the French Open doubles in 1984. In 1991, he won the Davis Cup by achieving the Herculean feat of defeating both Agassi and Sampras in front of an adoring French crowd after returning from a back operation a few months earlier that had confined him to a wheelchair.
HAND USED: Left
HEIGHT: 6’1’’
HIGHEST RANK SINGLES: 5
HIGHEST RANK DOUBLES: 6
Singles Titles 9 | Doubles Titles 10
CAREER EARNINGS: $3,917,596
GRAND SLAM RECORD
Grand Slam Record
Singles
Wimbledon SF (1986)
US Open QF (1986)
French Open F (1988)
Doubles
French Open W (1984, Noah)
My guilty pleasure is that I love food. I have to be careful. I just look at a piece of cake and I put on two kilos. It’s a nightmare
Richard’s greatest moment was winning the Wimbledon title in 1996 having beaten Pete Sampras in the quarter-finals. Richard was the only man to defeat Sampras at Wimbledon between 1993 and 2001. Richard won 17 singles titles and 3 doubles titles during his career and reached a singles ranking of world number 4 in 1999.
Richard is married to former James Bond girl Daphne Deckers and since retiring from the ATP circuit, he runs the Richard Krajicek Foundation which builds sports facilities for children in inner city areas in the Netherlands. In 2004 Richard became the tournament director of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, a position he still holds today.
HAND USED: Right
HEIGHT: 6'5"
HIGHEST RANK SINGLES: 4
HIGHEST RANK DOUBLES: 45
Singles Titles 17 | Doubles Titles 3
CAREER EARNINGS: $10,077,425
GRAND SLAM RECORD
Singles
Australian Open SF (1992)
French Open SF (1993)
Wimbledon W (1996)
US Open QF (1997, 1999, 2000)
Doubles
Australian Open SF (1992)
Now that I have retired, even though I wanted to play more, I can always look back and say that at least I won Wimbledon.
Younes tried a host of jobs before settling into a life as a professional tennis player, including driving a bus, cleaning a gym, stringing rackets and babysitting! Today he is one of the most eminent men in his nation, recently voted the most important role model for society by L’Economist, beating both the Prime Minister and Olympic runner Hicham El Guerrouj.
Younes’s most famous match was the Australian Open quarter final against Andy Roddick – close to five hours in duration it became the longest fifth set in Grand Slam history – Roddick eventually prevailed 21-19 in the final set.
HAND USED: Right
HEIGHT: 6'4"
HIGHEST RANK SINGLES: 14
HIGHEST RANK DOUBLES: 5
Singles Titles 5 | Doubles Titles -
CAREER EARNINGS: $4,044,089
GRAND SLAM RECORD
Singles
Australian Open QF (2000/03)
French Open 4R (1995/2000)
Wimbledon 3R (2000/01/03)
US Open (2002/03)
My worst nightmare is hearing the alarm going off while everything is still dark so I can catch a 6am flight
Thomas reached a career high of number 4 and won an impressive 19 ATP World Tour titles, including three Masters Series events. He was a finalist at the Australian Open in 1999 where he lost to Yevgeny Kafelnikov and also reached the Quarter-Finals at Wimbledon.
Since retiring from the main tour, Thomas has been worked with the Swedish Tennis Federation and served as the country’s Davis Cup Captain. He is also a regular expert commentator for Eurosport Sweden. He is the Tournament Director at the Kings of Tennis event in Stockholm. Thomas is married to Carine and they have one son, Tim.
HAND USED: Right
HEIGHT: 6’3’’
HIGHEST RANK SINGLES: 4
HIGHEST RANK DOUBLES: 18
Singles Titles - | Doubles Titles -
CAREER EARNINGS: $10,461,641
GRAND SLAM RECORD
Singles Australian Open F (1999)
French Open 4R (2001)
Wimbledon QF (2001)
US Open 4R(1993,1996,2000)