October 4, 2019 - After five weeks of voting by tennis enthusiasts from 120 countries, legendary Croatian tennis player Goran Ivanisevic collected the most votes from fans to enter the Tennis Hall of Fame, which would earn him an additional three percentage points in the election.
Splitski Dnevnik writes that of the four nominees, the Croatian tennis legend and 2001 Wimbledon winner finished first, garnering the largest number of fan votes.
“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 wrote for Goran’s nomination.
Spanish contender Conchita Martínez finished second in the fan vote, Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman finished third, while Sergi Bruguera finished fourth.
For winning the fan vote, Ivanisevic will receive three bonus percentage points on his results from the official voting panel comprised of journalists, historians and the Hall of Fame members. Martinez will get two bonus points and Bjorkman one.
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
To be elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, a candidate must receive at least 75% of the official panel’s votes and bonus points earned through fan votes.
The final voting results will be announced in January 2020 during the Australian Open and the selected candidate will be listed in the Hall of Fame on July 18 next year, at a special ceremony during the final weekend of the Hall of Fame Open in Newport.
"In today's digital world, sports fans know more about athletes than ever before. Because of this, it makes sense to give them a voice when determining who will be the recipient of the highest tennis honor. With votes coming from more than 120 countries, we are delighted that many tennis fans have accepted the fan vote,” said the International Tennis Hall of Fame Director Todd Martin.
So far, 257 tennis greats from 26 countries have been admitted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame, including legends such as Andre Agassi, Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, and. Martina Hingis.
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