Ivanisevic, a Croat, Claims He Is Victim of the Serb and Volley

The turmoil in Yugoslavia spread to Centre Court at Wimbledon on Sunday.

A telephone call from Yugoslavia complaining about Goran Ivanisevic’s swearing--in Croatian--prompted officials to warn him about his language during his final against Andre Agassi.

Ivanisevic blamed the call on Serbs.

“Somebody called from Yugoslavia, probably some Serb, so he (the umpire) told me, ‘Don’t swear,’ ” Ivanisevic told the Associated Press after his loss to Agassi.

Ivanisevic said he told the umpire that nobody understands him, but that the umpire replied, “These people understand.”

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Add Ivanisevic: He said he explained to the umpire: “I am a Croat, he (the caller) is a Serb, so he hates me, so sure he’s going to call.

“Maybe some people don’t like me and they called. You are going to find a lot of Serbian people complaining about what I say . . . I didn’t say anything too bad.”

Croatia withdrew from Serbian-dominated Yugoslavia last year and obtained international recognition of its independence.

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Last add Ivanisevic: He had earlier criticized Serbian-born Monica Seles, the top-seeded woman, for not disassociating herself from Yugoslavia.

Although she has lived in the United States since 1986 and is believed to have applied for American citizenship, Seles is still listed in tennis tournaments as being from Yugoslavia.

The day of Seles’ semifinal match, Scotland Yard bomb experts searched her Wimbledon residence after the tournament received a letter threatening her. No bomb was found.

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Trivia time: How many Olympic gold medals has the United States won in fencing?

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Their opinions: Not everyone is cheering about the United States’ wipeout of international basketball opposition. Phil Jackman of the Baltimore Sun comments: “This dollar-induced attack by the sport, the country and the media on the Olympic Ideal, as bruised and battered as it is, is unconscionable.”

Christian Laettner of Duke, after practicing with his pro brethren, thought about the games that lie ahead. “It’s going to be bad,” he said. “I think fans will be bored as hell watching us.”

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Real inspiration: How would you like to be a major league player and have a hitting instructor with a lifetime average of .185 telling you how to swing? That’s what Adrian Garrett, who tutors Kansas City hitters such as George Brett and Wally Joyner, batted in eight years in the major leagues.

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Trivia answer: One, team foil in 1904--the United State was the only country entered.

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Matter of timing: After the Philadelphia Phillies’ Darren Daulton saw the movie, “The Babe,” he asked his portly teammate, slugger John Kruk, why he didn’t get the role as Babe Ruth.

“They probably made the movie in spring training, and John Goodman was swinging better than me,” Kruk said.

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Anyone for Dramamine? According to a story in Forbes Magazine’s FYI supplement, the word yacht comes from the Dutch verb, jacht, which means “to throw up violently.”

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Quotebook: Haruki Uemura, Japan’s national judo coach, on his team’s toughness: “We were trained to be tough--we could drink cockroach soup.”