Great tragedy in Novak Djokovic's camp: Sister of Goran Ivanisevic passes away

Srdjana battled a serious illness for a long time, and her brother, the former tennis ace, talked about it in the past as he appeared on TV Ekran.

"One of the worst days of my tennis life happened in late 1988. I was getting ready to go to Australia where I planned to play in the qualifications in Adelaide and then the Australian Open qualifications, and maybe play in the junior tournament. Before I left, my father told me that my sister was ill, that the treatment was expensive, that he was staying at home and that I would be on my own," Ivanisevic said, adding:

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"I didn't sleep that night, and the next day I traveled to Australia and lost in the final round of qualifications in Adelaide, but as a lucky loser reached the quarterfinals. In Melbourne too, I passed the qualifications and also reached the quarterfinals. I didn't even play the junior tournament. In any case, all the prize money that I earned in Australia I brought back with me in cash, I put it in a jacket that I was inseparable from until I came home. And for that reason I didn't sleep on the plane. Then I went to my father and said: Here's the money, here's the jacket, just so I can finally get some sleep."

Srdjana learned that she had leukemia while she was pregnant with her first child.

The treatment in the years that followed was partly made easier by Goran's career as a successful tennis player and the money that he had available for the treatment - but in the end, after years of fighting, Srdjana succumbed to the illness in a Zagreb hospital.

She underwent surgery on Thursday morning and passed away in the evening. During Goran's career, Srdjana was one of his main motivations. He once said that he played for his sister in the 80s, for Croatia in the 90s, and had no one to play for later.

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(Telegraf.rs)