May 21, 2022 - It was a great day for Croatia's doubles teams, as Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić celebrated the Geneva Open doubles title, while Ivan Dodig and his American partner Austin Krajicek became Lyon Open champions!
Croatian tennis players Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić won the Geneva Open doubles title on Saturday, defeating Pablo Andujar Alba and Matwe Middelkoop 2-6, 6-2, 10-3 in the final.
The Olympic winners reached their ninth consecutive victory after an hour and nine minutes of play and celebrated their 11th title since joining forces.
After losing the first set, Mektić and Pavić fought back in the second set and took the service away from the Spanish-Dutch side three times. The winners were decided in the third set, which Mektić and Pavić won 10-3.
This was their 11th joint title and a good announcement for Roland Garros, which they are entering with the highest ambitions. Just last week, Mektić and Pavić defended their title at the Masters 1000 ATP tournament in Rome, defeating American John Isner and Argentine Diego Schwartzman. It was their 15th joint final and 10th title in total, which they had been waiting for since the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
But that's not all. Another Croatian tennis player celebrated today in doubles. A little earlier, Ivan Dodig won the tournament in Lyon with his American partner Austin Krajicek.
The Olympic doubles runner-up Dodig and partner Krajicek beat the Argentine-Brazilian side of Maxim Gonzalez and Marcelo Melo 6:3, 6:4 in the final. The match lasted an hour and 18 minutes.
Dodig and Krajicek achieved the victory by serving four aces, and Gonzalez and Melo recorded three double faults.
The top-seeded team reached the final by defeating the American Max Schnur and the New Zealander Artem Sitak with a smooth 6:1, 6:2.
Bravo to Croatian tennis players today!
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