WIMBLEDON, England -- Pat Rafter lunged at serves that seemed capable of carving craters into Centre Court. He returned some, barely ticked others and got his racket on too few.

He probably didn't know it when the fortnight began, but he certainly knew Monday. Goran Ivanisevic -- a relic of Wimbledons past -- was a very dangerous player again with his blazing serve.

"It's not much fun down the other end trying to get it back," Rafter said.

He couldn't do it on the final point of what may be his final match at Wimbledon. Ivanisevic lifted his left arm for one last serve. Rafter took it on his backhand, but the ball hit the net and dropped on his side.

Ivanisevic, cranky shoulder and all, had his first, improbable Wimbledon championship after finishing second three times. He beat Rafter 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 2-6, 9-7, firing 27 aces for a tournament total of 213, seven more than the Wimbledon record he set in 1992.

Despite planning year-end shoulder surgery, Ivanisevic became the second unseeded player -- man or woman -- to win a Wimbledon singles title. Boris Becker was 17 and just blossoming when he did it in 1985.

Ivanisevic was 29 and wilting when he came to Wimbledon this year.

He had dropped from an appearance in the 1998 Wimbledon final to the No. 125 ranking in the world. He got into the tournament only because officials gave him a wild-card invitation based on his three runner-up finishes.

He figured to last one, maybe two, rounds.

"He hadn't done anything in Grand Slams for the last few years," Rafter said. "Why would anybody give him any hope of coming back and doing what he's done?"

While Ivanisevic lost in the first round at Wimbledon last year, Rafter made it to the final for the first time. He won the first set against Pete Sampras and led 4-1 in the second.

Sampras went on to win in four sets, his fourth straight Wimbledon title and seventh in eight years. He was the man to beat this year but lost in the fourth round.

That seemed to clear a path for Rafter.

"When I went out to play Pete, I probably thought I was the underdog," Rafter said. But he began Monday's match thinking he had a 50-50 chance of winning.

"The score line reflected that. It was a very tight match," said Rafter, who plans to take six months off after this year and may retire.

Might his second straight loss in the final bring him back to Wimbledon next summer?

"Who knows?" he said.

Rafter, 28, plans a busy summer with tournaments in Montreal, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Long Island. Then he takes another stab at Grand Slam glory, trying to repeat his 1997 and 1998 championships at the U.S. Open after being bounced in the first round the past two years.

The affable Australian shouldn't have to worry about a Wimbledon hangover.

"I've pretty well had my little depression," Rafter said about an hour after the match. "It's disappointing. But, at the end of the day, it's a tennis match. We're out there having fun."

At least he made it to the final.

In Rafter's semifinal last Friday, Andre Agassi was serving for the match at 5-4 in the fifth set. But Rafter charged back to win 8-6, serving a career-high 30 aces. He managed just 13 on Monday.

That wasn't good enough against a server like Ivanisevic.

"It was really taken out of my hands this time. He served very well when he had to," Rafter said. "It was a great two weeks. What can I do? It's all over. Still going to celebrate."