LONDON, May 7: Goran Ivanisevic will not be able to defend his Wimbledon title in June because of shoulder surgery.

Ivanisevic will have the operation to repair a tear in his left shoulder next week in the German city of Heidelberg.

“I wanted so much to play that opening match on Monday at Wimbledon on Centre Court,” Ivanisevic said in a statement on Tuesday.

“I am very disappointed but I have no choice. I’m also disappointed for my supporters and all those who were looking forward to seeing me at Wimbledon.”

The big-serving left-hander has been suffering from the injury for more than a year, but the pain worsened when he played Davis Cup for Croatia against Germany in February.

On Tuesday the Jutarnji List daily quoted Ivanisevic as saying the pain was becoming “insufferable”.

“My shoulder feels like it’s falling apart,” the paper quoted him as saying.

He entered last year’s Wimbledon with a broken-down shoulder and a triple-figure world ranking but beat Australian Pat Rafter in a thrilling five-set final to become the first man to win a grand slam tournament with a wild card.

Ivanisevic is hoping to recover from the surgery in order to be fit for the start of next year. However, by then he will be 31 and, by his own admission, he may struggle to rebuild his career.

Unable to defend the ranking points from Wimbledon, Ivanisevic’s world ranking is set to drop while he is absent from the ATP tour and he does not relish the prospect of having to climb back up the rankings.

The Wimbeldon championships start on June 24.—Reuters