And, yet again, he believes that it is his "destiny" to make a comeback at Wimbledon. "I feel that I must play this time because I was unable to defend my title last year," says the man whose latest ailment was a foot operation two months ago following a seashell cut on a Miami beach. "There was no point in coming back and not being fully fit, but now I'm ready."Yesterday was very much Goran day. Apart from making his comeback, the Croatian also met a young emerging professional who has used him as a role model all his life.

Alex Bogdanovic is the latest player to be given the poisoned title of "next British hope". Following a lot of publicity during his early amateur days, the 19-year-old has often struggled to adapt to the pace of the senior tour. Reaching the final of Surbiton is therefore a considerable achievement."It's great to reach my first final," he says. "I've played well this week and this is an amazing reward for all my hard work." Bogdanovic got his first real taste of the big time when he represented Great Britain in the Davis Cup tie against Australia in February. Both Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski were injured at the time, so Bogdanovic was thrust into the limelight."That was a great experience," he says. The progress I have made since then is clear to see." In a typical British tennis cock-up, Bogdanovic's reward for progressing to the final of Surbiton is to face the busiest day of his young career.

Tomorrow's final, against Wesley Moodie, the South African who eliminated Greg Rusedski, will be followed by two qualifying matches at Raynes Park for a Wimbledon wild-card."Yes it could be a heavy schedule," was his polite reaction to the Lawn Tennis Association's bizarre scheduling.Still, at least Bogdanovic was able to watch Ivanisevic play in the exhibition match "Yeah," he smiles, "that was a real treat. I have modelled my serve on his, so I enjoyed picking up some new pointers."Mention the possibility of him playing against his hero at Wimbledon and Bogdan-ovic's eyes light up. The luck of the draw will determine whether the dream comes true, but one suspects oppor-tunities are running out. All the indications are that this is a lap of honour, Ivanisevic's chance to say goodbye.The only remaining question is how Ivanisevic will bow out. The notorious extrovert would not say yesterday, but one sensed it would be worth the wait "It's going to be a surprise," he insists.

"All my life I've done strange and crazy things; I think I have a right to end my career this way."The first-round draw for the Stella Artois tournament which starts at Queen's Club in London tomorrow has paired Bogdanovic with a qualifier and Rusedski with the American Robby Ginepri Henman, seeded seventh, has been given a bye.. The Low Countries are flying high at Roland Garros, what with the all-Belgian women's final and a giant Dutchman who has blown a gust of fresh air into the men's game. This afternoon will be the realisation of what Martin Verkerk calls "a dream which is actually a little bit of a joke", a men's final against the favourite and last year's runner-up, Juan Carlos Ferrero. This year he has won 27 and lost only two on the surface, picked up titles at Monte Carlo and Valencia, and been a semi-finalist in Barcelona and Rome. On three previous appearances at the French, Ferrero was twice a semi-finalist and a subdued runner-up last year, when he was accused of playing poorly but was in fact struggling on the quiet with a damaged ankle in which he had 45 injections during the fortnight.Now, he says, he is fit and, like Verkerk, in pursuit of a dream In Ferrero's case, it is more than a dream. "I first came to Roland Garros when I was 12 years old," he said on Friday after defeating Albert Costa, the compatriot who beat him in the 2002 final "I've always wanted to win here It's one of my dreams, my ambitions.