Croatia's oldest ATP tournament Konzum Croatia Open Umag and its organizer Istraturist will honor the country's greatest tennis player and one of its greatest athletes ever, Goran Ivanišević, by naming the central stadium at the Stella Maris complex after him. The ceremony of naming the Goran Ivanišević Stadium is part of the celebration of the 15th anniversary of his win in Wimbledon. The ceremony will be attended by the legendary American tennis player Andre Agassi, among others.
Former world no. 1, 2003 Roland Garros champion and 2010 Umag winner, Juan Carlos Ferrero, will be a special guest at this tennis event.
"The decision to name our popular 'shell' after Goran has been one of the easiest and fastest decisions that we have ever made. Goran is a huge friend of both our tournament and Umag, but above everything else a great Croatian athlete and our only Wimbledon champion. The fact that he has agreed to our stadium carrying his name is a great honor for us as organizers and for our tournament," Ronald Korotaj, Director of Istraturist and Chairman of the tournament's Organizing Committee, stated.
Goran Ivanišević thanked everyone involved in the Umag tournament and the entire city of Umag as he saw the naming of the stadium after himself a tremendous honor.
"Even though I haven't played often in Umag, that finale in 1990 had somehow launched my career. Immediately after Umag, I played the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and semifinals at Wimbledon, and won my first title in Stuttgart… That is why Umag has a special place in my career, a place where, in a way, it all began for me," Goran Ivanišević said.
Immediately after the naming ceremony, the Goran Ivanišević ATP Stadium will host an exhibition match between Andre Agassi and Goran Ivanišević, with Juan Carlos Ferrero as the special guest. The match will mark the start of the 27th Konzum Croatia Open Umag, which is expected to attract around 100,000 visitors from Croatia and abroad until the finale on July 24.
