 Ivanisevic is making his debut at the Masters Tennis event |
Goran Ivanisevic believes the court at London's Royal Albert Hall is "too fast" despite racing through his opening match at the Masters Tennis. The 35-year-old former Wimbledon champion was not happy with the pace of the court despite using its speed to good effect against Carl-Uwe Steeb.
The Croat produced a string of aces and topped 130mph to beat the German 6-1 6-4 in just 42 minutes.
"The court is very fast. It's too fast really, but it's nice for me," he said.
Ivanisevic, who beat Pat Rafter to claim the 2001 Wimbledon title, is making his debut in the event after pulling out two years in succession through injury, while last year he missed out to make a one-off Davis Cup comeback.
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"It's a beautiful place to play tennis and the crowd are superb," he added.
"The way I played at the beginning was better than I thought I can play."
Two-time French Open champion Sergi Bruguera was the second quick winner, beating Frenchman Henri Leconte 6-2 6-3 in 49 minutes.
Chile's former world number one Marcelo Rios, the youngest player in the 12-man field, is the favourite for the event.
Rios qualified as runaway winner of this year's Tour of Champions and has lost only twice all year, although the second of those was to Ivanisevic in Frankfurt two weeks ago.
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