Back in 1997, Croatian tennis champion Goran IvaniÅ¡ević was at the top of his game. Known for his unpredictable antics on the court, he met his match against Australian Mark Philippoussis at the Queen’s Club Championship final that year. The two athletes duked it out for a few rounds before it became clear that IvaniÅ¡ević wasn’t going to win. That’s when the player did something completely outrageous. Without a word, he walked over to his 14-year-old ball girl and handed her his racket.
Amy Kavanagh was perplexed, and the crowd began to giggle as they realized Ivanišević was asking Amy to finish the round for him. She was clearly reluctant, but finally, she shrugged and played along! She gamely served the ball to the Aussie player, who gently batted it back. They kept up the rally even as Philippoussis started returning the volley using his head. When he finally tried to kick the ball over the net and failed, Amy wound up winning the round!
We love how spontaneous and silly everyone was! Tennis can seem like such a buttoned-up sport, but this was downright delightful. Check out Amy’s moment to shine in the video below, and don’t forget to share this unforgettable match.
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