February 11, 2021 - Donna Vekić will play in the 3rd round of the Australian Open for the second time in her career! 

The 24-year-old from Osijek made it past last year's Roland Garros' semifinalist in the 2nd round, Argentine Nadia Podoroska (WTA-45) - 6:2, 6:2.

In a match that lasted only 62 minutes, Donna dominated from the very beginning - in both sets, she quickly took a 4:1 lead, and she kept that advantage without any problems until the end. During the match, she achieved four aces with a first-serve percentage of 61 percent and took advantage of six of the eight break points.

It was their second meeting (US Open qualifiers in 2016) and Donna's first victory. To enter the round of 16, Donna will play against Estonian Kaia Kanepi (WTA-65), who knocked out 4th seed defending champion Sofia Kenin in the 2nd round.

Borna Ćorić suffered a shocking loss in the 2nd round of the Australian Open. Croatia's best tennis player was unexpectedly defeated by the world's 192nd best tennis player, American Mackenzie McDonald - 6:4, 6:2, 4:6, 6:4.

Borna struggled from the beginning. McDonald had a 2-0 lead in sets after 64 minutes of play, and Borna had only one tie-break (in the second game of the 2nd set) until the beginning of the third set, which went unused.

However, at the end of the third set (10th game), Borna came back for 2:1 in sets. Though when a possible turnaround was expected, Borna struggled in the fifth game of the fourth set, which the American eventually used to advance to the 3rd round and his best result in Melbourne. Borna recorded 17 aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 67%.

Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić reached their ninth consecutive victory in 2021 on Wednesday. The second-placed Croatian duo advanced to the 2nd round of the Australian Open after defeating Taiwanese player Yen-Hsun Lu and American player Sam Querrey - 7:6 (4), 6:3.

Their opponents in the 2nd round are Americans Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul, against whom they will play on Friday. 

Recall Marin Čilić and Petra Martić were eliminated from the Australian Open in the first round. 

Source: HTS

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February 9, 2021 - Marin Čilić and Petra Martić have been eliminated from the Australian Open after the first round, while Borna Ćorić and Donna Vekić have advanced to the second. 

Marin Čilić was quickly eliminated in the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. The finalist of the 2018 Australian Open ended his performance in the first round this year, and was convincingly defeated in three sets by the 18th seed, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov - 6:4, 6:2, 7:6 (5).

Marin had only four breaks during the match and used only one in the eighth game of the third set. At 5:3, he even served to win the set, but Dimitrov did not allow him to get back into the game. Marin had four aces (Dimitrov 19) during the match and recorded a first-serve percentage of 58 percent.

Fortunately, there was a good start for Borna Ćorić at this year's Australian Open. The 24-year-old from Zagreb (22nd-seed) knocked out Argentine Guido Pella (ATP-44) in the first round without losing a set - 6:3, 7:6 (5), 7:5. Borna had the most problems in the second set in which Pella had a 2-0 lead, and in the tie-break of the same set, he was only two points away from making the match even (5:3). However, Borna remained strong enough and, in the end, managed to win 3:0.

He recorded 23 aces with a high first-serve percentage of 70 percent during the match and used four of the 11 breakpoints in the match. It was their second meeting and the first victory for Ćorić, whose next opponent will be American Mackenzie McDonald, the world's 192nd best tennis player.

It took Donna Vekić two hours and 40 minutes to pass the 1st round of the Australian Open; after a great fight and three sets, the Osijek native managed to find a winning combination against Chinese rival Yafan Wang (WTA-98) - 4:6, 6:3, 6:4.

Donna started the match well, led 3:2, but then lost her serve twice and fell behind in sets. Wang took the lead in the second set with 2:0, and it seemed that she was surely stepping towards victory, but Donna turned around and took the second set.

In the decisive set, which was played for more than an hour, Wang had a 3:2 advantage, but Donna ultimately won with a final break in the 10th game.

In the second round, she will face last year's Roland Garros semi-finalist, Argentine Nadia Podoroska, currently the 45th best tennis player globally.

Petra Martić finished her time at the Australian Open and was surprised by the Serbian qualifier Olga Danilović (WTA-183) - 7:5, 3:6, 6:4. Petra lost the first set, but by winning the second, she was back in the match. She even led 3:1 in the decisive set but managed to win only one game until the end of match.

Danilović took a 4:3 lead, Martić equalized at 4:4, but no longer had the strength for the victory.  

Source: HTS

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February 5, 2021 - Croatian tennis players are ready for this year's Australian Open, which begins on Monday, February 8, in Melbourne. 

Gol.hr reports that the draw for the Australian Open, which begins on February 8, took place in Melbourne Park. Croatia will have four representatives in the singles competition at the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season. Borna Ćorić and Marin Čilić in the men's competition, and Petra Martić and Donna Vekić in the women's competition.

Borna Ćorić, who is the 22nd seed, will play in the first round against Argentine Guido Pella, while Marin Čilić will face a tough opponent, 18th seed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. Serbian Olga Danilović will meet Petra Martić in the first round, while Donna Vekić will play against Chinese player Yafan Wang.

Ćorić played once against the 44th tennis player in the world and lost. It was 2017 in Chengdu, China.

Borna has dropped out five times in the first round in his six appearances at the Australian Open so far, and in 2019 he reached the fourth round.

Čilić and Dimitrov have played six times so far, and the Croatian tennis player leads 4-2 in victories. The last time they played was in 2019 at Roland Garros, and Dimitrov celebrated. They have already played in Australia once, but in Brisbane in 2014, where Čilić was better.

It will be Marin's 13th appearance at the Australian Open. He went the furthest in 2018 when he lost in the final to Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer in five sets.

Serbian Olga Danilović will play Petra Martić in the first round. Martić and the 20-year-old Serbian tennis player have not met so far. Martić has played in Melbourne nine times so far, and she achieved the best result in 2018, reaching the fourth round.

Donna Vekić and Yafan Wang had played once, in 2019 in Acapulco, when Wang won. Wang is currently the 96th best tennis player in the world.

The first-seed of the tournament, the eight-time winner of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, will play in the first round against the Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. Rafael Nadal, the second-seed, will start against Serbian Laslo Đere.

Last year's finalist, Austrian Dominic Thiem, is the third seed of the tournament and will face Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.

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February 1, 2020 - Nikola Mektic and Czech partner Barbora Krejčíková have won the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open!

Croatian tennis player Nikola Mektic and Czech partner Barbora Krejčíková defeated American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Briton Jamie Murray 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (10-1) in the Australian Open final after 85 minutes of play.

Mektic has thus become the fourth Croatian tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament in mixed doubles and has brought the 14th total Grand Slam title to Croatian tennis.

Mektic and Krejčíková were the first to come to a break at the beginning of the match and held that advantage until the tenth game in which the Croatian tennis player served. But at the deciding point, Mektic made a double error for an equal 5-5 game. Murray and Mattek-Sands won the next two games, bringing them the first set.

In the second set, the Croatian-Czech duo played four games with two breaks to lead 5-2. But again, Murray and Mattek-Sands broke on Krejčíková’s serve. Mektic didn’t repeat the same mistake of the first set and made it 6-4 in the second set, bringing the final decision to a prolonged tie-break.

In the tie-break, Mektic and Krejčikova played without error, went to 10-1, and after 85 minutes of play, became the new winners of the Australian Open.

This is Mektic’s first Grand Slam title in his second final, after losing in the US Open final in 2018 with Polish partner Alicja Rosolska.

Those #AO2020 victory smiles ?@B_Krejcikova x @NMektic#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/yLEzKKfXXP

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020

Barbora Krejčíková thus defended last year's title, when she won with American partner Rajeev Ram. The Czech player also has two women's doubles titles with Katerina Siniakov (Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2018) and is unbeaten in Grand Slam finals.

Mektic and Krejčíková will split AUD 190,000, while the defeated finalists will earn AUD 100,000.

.@NMektic makes his debut speech as a Grand Slam winner ?#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/ZI4Ti6TEpA

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020

Before Mektic, Grand Slam mixed doubles titles were won by Dragutin Mitic (Roland Garros in 1938 paired with Simonne Mathieu), Mate Pavic (US Open 2016 with Laura Siegemund and Australian Open 2018 with Gabriela Dabrowski) and record holder Ivan Dodig (Roland Garros 2018 & 2019 & Wimbledon 2019 with Latish Chan).

Iva Majoli (Roland Garros 1997), Goran Ivanisevic (Wimbledon 2001) and Marin Cilic (US Open 2014) boast individual Grand Slam titles, men’s doubles were won by Nikola Pilic (US Open 1970 with Pierre Barthes), Ivan Dodig (Roland Garros 2015 with Marcelo Melo) and Mate Pavic (Australian Open 2018 with Oliver Marach) and Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Australian Open 1998 with Martina Hingis) triumphed in women's doubles.

Source: HRT

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January 31,  2020 - Croatian tennis player Nikola Mektic has made it to the mixed doubles final of the Australian Open!

Croatian Davis Cup national team player Nikola Mektic has reached the final of the mixed doubles at the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. Namely, at the Australian Open in Melbourne, Mektic and his Czech partner Barbora Krejchikov defeated Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Finnish player Henri Kontinen 3:6, 6:3, 10:5 in the semifinal on Friday.

Mektic and Krejchikov will face American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Briton Jamie Murray, who Mektic and Polish partner Alicja Rosolska lost to back in the US Open final in 2018.

Winners are grinners!

Fifth seeds @B_Krejcikova/@NMektic are the first team through to the #AO2020 mixed doubles final after def. Dabrowski/Kontinen 3-6 6-3 10-5.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/tOoye4HxKB

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 31, 2020

Mektic is the final Croatian representative left in the competition.

Recall, Ivan Dodig was defeated in the semifinal of the men's doubles competition on Thursday. Namely, Dodig and Filip Polasek, who were the 4th-seed of the tournament,  surprisingly lost to Australians Max Purcell and Luke Saville 6:7(7), 6:3, 6:4. In the mixed doubles, Dodig and partner Latisha Chan lost in the quarterfinal to Gabriela Dabrowski and Henri Kontinen 7-5, 7-6(2).

Hungarian Timea Babos and Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic won the Australian Open for the second time in the women's doubles competition. They defeated first-seed Hsieh Su-Wei and Barbara Strycova on Friday 6:2, 6:1. Mladenovic now has four Grand Slam titles, and Babos one less.

Recall, Borna Coric was defeated in the first round of the Australian Open this year, while Petra Martic and Ivo Karlovic lost in the second round. Donna Vekic lost in the third round, while Marin Cilic lost in the round of 16. As for the doubles, Mate Pavic lost in the third round of the men's doubles with Brazilian partner Bruno Soares.

The next Grand Slam tournament on the itinerary is the French Open, or Roland Garros, which begins in May.

Source: HTS

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January 28, 2020 - Ivan Dodig will play in the Australian Open men’s doubles semifinal with partner Filip Polasek, and the mixed doubles quarterfinal with partner Latisha Chan. Nikola Mektic will also play in the mixed doubles quarterfinal with partner Barbora Krejčíková.

Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek are in the semifinal of this year's Australian Open! The Croatian-Slovakian duo, who is also the 4th-seed of the tournament, was better than Salvadoran Marcel Areval and Briton Jonny O'Mara, with a convincing 6:3, 6:2 victory in the quarterfinal match. To reach the Australian Open final, they will play against the winner of the match between Gonzalez / Skupski - Purcell / Saville. Recall, Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek won the third round after defeating brothers Bob and Mike Bryan - 6:3, 6:4.

Dodig remains Croatia's last representative in the men's doubles competition as American Austin Krajicek and Franko Skugor lost to Santiago Gonzalez and Ken Skupski in the third round - 6:3, 6:4. The furthest Ivan Dodig has advanced in doubles at the Australian Open was back in 2015, though he made it to the final of the mixed doubles in 2017.

Tuesday was also a successful day for both Croatian tennis players and in the mixed doubles competition, with Dodig and Nikola Mektic advancing to the quarterfinal. Dodig and Latisha Chan defeated Slovenian Andrea Klepac and Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6:3, 4:6, 10:8 in the second round, while Nikola Metic and his Czech partner Barbora Krejčíková topped American Amanda Anisimova and Australian Nick Kyrgios of Australia 4:6, 6:4, 10:8.

Finally, great success was achieved by Antonia Ruzic, a 16-year-old player from Cakovec, and Belgian Sofia Costoulas, who advanced to the doubles quarterfinal at the Australian Open Juniors after defeating Australian representatives Olivia Gadecki and Amy Stevens in the second round - 6:1, 6:3.

Antonia Ruzic lost her first singles match in the junior tournament, but managed to book the second round of the doubles competition after knocking out the 5th-seed team in the first round, Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra and Spain's Ana Mintegi Del Olmo - 6:3, 6:4.

Source: HTS

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January 24, 2020 - Marin Cilic has advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open after a dramatic victory over Roberto Bautista-Agut 6:7, 6:4, 6:0, 5:7 6:3.

After a 3-hour-and 37-minute match in the last round against Frenchman Benoit Paire, in which he secured the victory in the decisive tie-break of the fifth set, Marin has now played for four hours and 13 minutes against Bautista-Agut.

The first set was equal, although both players had one chance to break. However, Bautista-Agut was better in the thirteenth game, as he made the first mini-break at 2:2 and ultimately took the first set.

Cilic evened the score in the second set by taking Bautista-Agut’s serve at 6:4. It was evident then that the level of his game was rising - and then he exploded completely.

Marin played perhaps the best set we’d seen him play in ages; a set that reminded us of the Marin Cilic that won the 2014 US Open. Bautista-Agut was helpless in the third set when Cilic swept him 6:0.

Cilic’s momentum fell slightly in the fourth set. While he led 3:1, Bautista-Agut returned for 3:2. The key break was made at the 6:5 lead. The game then went into the fifth set, which was quite even, despite the Spaniard losing his serve again at the start.

Cilic had a psychological test in the lead at 4:3, and it seemed that Bautista-Agut could return to the match as he reached 0:30, but with great serves and winners, Cilic responded to the challenge and came to 5:3. In the next game, he finished the match on Bautista-Agut’s serve. Cilic failed to use the first match point, but ultimately celebrated the marathon victory with a roar.

Week 2⃣ FEELS!@cilic_marin gets his #AusOpen revenge knocking out No. 9 seed Bautista Agut 6-7(3) 6-4 6-0 5-7 6-3 in four hours and 10 minutes.#AO2020 pic.twitter.com/Vh0XQmFGWw

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2020

In the round of 16, Cilic will play against the winner of the match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Milos Raonic.

Donna Vekic will play in the round of 16 on Saturday against Iga Świątek.

Source: Index.hr

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January 23, 2020 - Marin Cilic and Donna Vekic have advanced to the third round of the Australian Open.

Marin Cilic is in the third round of the Australian Open! After five-sets, Cilic found his way to victory against the 21st best player in the world, Frenchman Benoit Paire - 6:2, 6:7(6), 3:6, 6:1, 7:6(10:3).

The match looked promising for Cilic at first as he easily won the first set. However, in the second, Cilic had a 5:2 lead and allowed Paire to get back in the game. The Frenchman returned with a break, and after the tie-break at 3:5, he won the second set. 

Cilic lost the third set thanks to a break in the eighth game, but after that moment, he did not lose his serve for the rest of the match. 

In just 27 minutes, Cilic took the fourth set, while the fifth set went to an extended tie-break in which Marin reached his fifth victory in his sixth meeting with Paire. Marin totaled 17 aces (Paire had 30) with a first-serve percentage of 67%. Marin’s rival in the fight for the round of 16 will be the 9th best tennis player in the world, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

Donna Vekic will join Cilic in the third round of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. The Osijek native and 19th-seed of the tournament defeated French player Alize Cornet, the 61st best tennis player in the world - 6:4, 6:2 without any problems.

Donna had a bit more work to do in the first set, where, after a 3:1 lead, she allowed Cornet to return to 3:3. However, immediately in the next game, Vekic broke her opponent, which was enough to win the first set.

In the second set, Donna was up 4:1, which was an unattainable advantage for Cornet. This was their second match and the first victory for Vekic, who will play Iga Świątek in the third round on Saturday. 

Petra Martic is out of the Australian Open after losing to Julia Goerges 4:6, 6:3: 7:5. This was Goerges third victory in their third meeting. Ivo Karlovic is also out after losing to Gael Monfils 6:4, 6:7(8), 4:6, 5:7 in the second round. 

Source: HTS

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January 21, 2020 - After Petra Martic moved to the second round on Monday and Borna Coric was surprisingly knocked out in the first, three more Croatian representatives took to the courts on Tuesday - Marin Cilic, Donna Vekic and Ivo Karlovic.

Marin Cilic had a convincing performance in the first round of this year's Australian Open, defeating the recent finalist of the ATP tournament in Doha, Frenchman Corentin Moutet (ATP—70) - 6:3, 6:2, 6:4.

Cilic won the first set after a break in the sixth game, and in the second set, he took Moutet’s serve in the first and fifth games. Cilic, however, had a bit more work in the third set, though in the fifth game, a decisive break gave him the victory, in which he recorded nine aces with a first-serve percentage of 62 percent.

His next opponent is the 21st tennis player in the world, Frenchman Benoit Paire. They have played on five occasions so far, and Marin has recorded four wins. 

Cruise mode ?@cilic_marin keeps his #AO2020 hopes alive with a 6-3 6-2 6-4 first round win over Moutet#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/d0DU4CX7kc

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2020

Donna Vekic will also play in the second round of the Australian Open for the fifth time in her career. Namely, the 23-year-old Osijek native and 19th-seed of the tournament was too strong for former best tennis player in the world, Russian Maria Sharapova (WTA-145) - 6:3, 6:4. 

Donna had no problems in the first set and quickly went to 5:1 to resolve any doubts. However, in the second set, Sharapova played much better, and after a break in the fourth game, later led 4:1. 

Donna then kicked into gear and, with five consecutive games, reached her first success against Sharapova. Sharapova previously celebrated at the 2018 Roland Garros tournament. 

On her way to victory, Donna recorded three aces with a first-serve percentage of 52 percent, and used all four break-points on her opponent’s serve. In the second round, Vekic will play the winner of Cornet - Niculescu.

Under the watchful eye of mum and dad, @DonnaVekic gets the W.

"It's really great to have them around and my whole team is the best" ?#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/GqZ6NbuNfM

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2020

Ivo Karlovic (ATP-124th), who will turn 41 next month, also advanced to the second round of the first Australian Open, beating Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the first round 7:6 (4), 6:4, 7:5 after two hours and two minutes of play.

Source: HTS

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January 20, 2020 - Croatian tennis player Petra Martic will move forward in the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, while Borna Coric lost in the first round.

Martic beat American Christina McHale 6-3, 6-0, while Coric lost to American Sam Querrey 3-6, 4-6, 4-6.

Martic, who is the 13th-seed of the tournament, played a great match and advanced to the second round without any problems. It took an hour and 30 minutes of play to win against the 27-year-old American, currently the world's 84th best tennis player.

It was their third match, with the Croatian tennis player now leading 2-1 in victories. Petra celebrated three years ago in the Cincinnati qualifiers, and McHale was better in 2014 in the Montreal qualifiers.

Martic, who reached the fourth round last year as her best result in Melbourne, will play in the second round against German Julia Georges, who beat Slovakian player Victoria Kuzma 6-1, 6-2 at the opening of the tournament.

They have played twice so far, and both times the 31-year-old Georges has celebrated. The last time they met was in the semifinals of the WTA Birmingham tournament in June last year.

Unfortunately, Borna Coric, currently Croatia’s best tennis player, was defeated in the first round. American Sam Querrey celebrated 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

In the first set, Querrey first led 3-2. With three games in a row, he increased his lead to 5-2 and calmly brought the set to an end. In the second set, the 32-year-old American made it 2-0, Borna equalized for 2-2, but then again lost his serve and failed to come back in the remainder of the set. The third set was again ruled by one game at 4-4.

Coric and Querrey have played only once so far, five years ago at Roland Garros, where the Coric was the winner.

Coric made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open last year. However, in the remaining five appearances in Melbourne, he dropped out in the first round.

After the rain subsides, Marin Cilic will play against French player Corentin Moutet, while tomorrow, Ivo Karlovic will play against Canadian Vasek Pospisil and Donna Vekic against Russian Maria Sharapova.

Source: Gol.hr

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