Has a wildcard player won Wimbledon? Looking at the 2 instances when wildcards scripted history at the British Major

It's not often that a player who is awarded a wildcard wins a tournament, let alone a prestigious event like Wimbledon. However, this has happened twice before, with Goran Ivanisevic defying the odds to win his maiden Grand Slam title at the grasscourt Major in 2001. Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielson also achieved the feat in the men's doubles in 2012.

Ivanisevic was extremely consistent throughout the 1990s. He ended the decade ranked in the top 10 on six occasions, and in the top 20 thrice. Wimbledon was his most successful Grand Slam tournament, with runner-up finishes in 1992, 1994 and 1998.

Ivanisevic then struggled with injuries and loss of form, and by the end of 2000 his ranking had dropped outside the top 100. His ranking didn't improve by the time the British Major rolled around in 2001, meaning he couldn't get direct entry into the tournament. However, given his past results at the event, he was awarded a wildcard.

Goran Ivanisevic's 2001 Wimbledon triumph remains one of the most memorable stories in tennis history

Goran Ivanisevic at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships

Given his struggles in the lead-up to the tournament, no one expected Ivanisevic to make a deep run at SW 19. But he had other ideas. He started off with a straight-sets win over Fredrik Jonsson and then defeated 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya in the second round.

Ivanisevic dispatched future World No. 1 Andy Roddick in four sets in the third round and followed it up with a win over home favorite Greg Rusedski. He earned hard-fought wins over top-10 players Marat Safin and Tim Henman to reach his fourth final at the All England Club.

Ivanisevic took on Pat Rafter, who was the runner-up in 2000, for the Championship. The match was an instant classic, with plenty of momentum shifts that had the crowd on the edge of their seats.

After a three-hour battle, Ivanisevic defeated Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7 to claim his maiden Grand Slam title. This would also end up being his last career title. After undergoing shoulder surgery in 2002, the Croat temporarily retired. He made a comeback in 2004, but following a third-round exit at Wimbledon, he called it quits for good.

To date, Ivanisevic remains the only male player in singles to have won a Major title as a wildcard.

Jonathan Marray and Frederik Nielson became the only doubles pair to win the Wimbledon title after being awarded a wildcard in 2012. The duo were the ultimate underdogs with a fairytale run to the final.

Neither had won a doubles title on the tour, or even reached a final, prior to the start of the tournament. Marray and Nielson played out of their skins to upset their more accomplished counterparts in every round. They defeated the defending champions, the Bryan brothers, in the semifinals and won the title against the fifth-seeded pairing of Horia Tecau and Robert Lindstedt.