July 3, 2021 - Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić have not let their absence from Roland Garros be known as they move their way into the third round of the Wimbledon doubles tournament!
Croatian tennis players Nikola Mektić, Mate Pavić, and Ivan Dodig were successful in their men's doubles matches at Wimbledon played on Friday.
Mektić and Pavić, who are the first seed of the tournament, convincingly defeated Australians Alex De Minaur and Matt Reid 6-2, 6-4, while Australian Open winners Dodig and Slovak Filip Polašek beat Slovak Norbert Gombos and Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-1 in the first round.
In the third round, Mektić and Pavić will play against the winner of the match between the Bosnian and Serbian duo Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic and New Zealander Marcus Daniello and Austrian Philipp Oswald.
The fifth seed Dodig and Polašek will play Spaniard Jaume Munar and Briton Cameron Norrie in the second round.
The top-ranked Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić (ATP - 37) advanced to the third round of Wimbledon after defeating French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi (ATP - 119) on Thursday 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5 ) after three hours and three minutes of play.
In the third round, Čilić will play against the second-best tennis player in the world, Russian Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.
It will be their second duel, though the first was played two years ago in Washington when the Russian tennis player celebrated in two sets (6-4, 7-6).
By entering the third round, Marin achieved his best result at Wimbledon since 2017, when he came one step closer to the title, losing in the final to Roger Federer in three sets.
Recall, Donna Vekić lost in the second round to Karolina Pliskova, while Petra Martić lost in the second round to Irina-Camelia Begu. Martić and American doubles partner Shelby Rogers are in the second round of the doubles competition.
Source: HRT
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