THE irony in Goran Ivanisevic's Wimbledon triumph is as devastating as one of his unreturnable serves.

The All England Club granted a wild card to the man destined to knock out Britain's Tim Henman on the way to an historic victory in the final.

Take away the wild card, or take away the rain on Friday night, which crucially interrupted Henman's march to the final, and maybe - just maybe - we would today be celebrating a British men's singles champion at the biggest and best tennis tournament in the world.

Sadly, we are not. Henman's failure to hold his nerve in the resumed semi-final left the country with an acute sense of anti-climax.

And yet, we were still treated to a piece of sporting history. Not the historic chapter we had hoped for, but memorable nonetheless.

Ivanisevic versus Rafter was wonderful entertainment and it produced a classic story. The loser in three previous finals, not ranked high enough to automatically qualify, written-off by everyone except those closest to him, he became an emotional and immensely popular winner.

Popular because he is a character in the post-McEnroe era of drab personalities.

Popular because, after the recent thrashings on the fields of cricket and rugby, the country found itself siding with someone who could stop an Australian winning, albeit an Australian who accepted defeat with the grace of a real gentleman.

With the help of the All England Club and the traditional British weather, we were robbed of our home-grown champion.

But the champion we ended up with has found a place in our hearts for many years to come.

Darlington has been branded the luckiest town in Britain after producing two National Lottery millionaires in successive weeks.

Digger driver Barry Moss has scooped £7.5m a week after Anita Wynne won £3.6m. Good luck to both of them - may their millions bring them every happiness.

But the people of Darlington shouldn't bother buying a ticket for this week's lottery draws. Lightning isn't supposed to strike twice - it definitely can't strike three times. Can it?