November 20, 2021 - The Croatia Davis Cup team will be without Borna Ćorić this year. The competition begins in Turin on November 25 against Australia.  

The end of the tennis season is reserved for the Davis Cup final, and the final tournament takes place from November 25 to December 5 this year. Croatia will play its first match in Turin on Thursday, November 25, against Australia, reports T.portal. 

Marin Čilić, Nino Serdarušić, Borna Gojo, Nikola Mektić, and Mate Pavić are the forces that will represent Croatia in Turin. Croatia is in Group D with Hungary and Australia. If they win first place, they will also play against the winner of Group E (Italy, USA, Colombia) in the quarterfinals, also in Turin. 

"We are sorry that Borna Ćorić is not with us, but we are happy to go to Turin. We wish Borna a speedy recovery and a return to the court. With this team, we also have a great chance considering the excellent form of Marin Čilić and the number one doubles team in the world, and with the whole team and the professional staff who are always with us. Therefore, we believe that we will pass the group and that we will reach the quarterfinals," said Nikolina Babić, president of the Croatian Tennis Federation, at the press conference held at the Hilton Garden Inn Zagreb.

Nikolina Babić was recently elected vice president of Tennis Europe.

"It is a great recognition and an excellent chance for the Croatian Tennis Federation so that we can all do something more for Tennis Europe and European tennis in general, young players, and achieve greater opportunities for new tournaments to come to Croatia. Junior tennis must be more noticeable, and that is the part that will be worked on more. The focus will be on new programs.

We spent the last days in preparation. Unfortunately, due to a shoulder injury, which has been bothering him for a long time, Borna Ćorić will not compete. He will be replaced by Nino Serdarušić, along with Marin Čilić and Borna Gojo. We also have the best doubles team, Nikola Mektić, and Mate Pavić. Tomorrow morning we will travel to Turin where we will have training for the next four days. We play our first match on Thursday against Australia and Sunday against Hungary. I hope that we will pass our group and play in the quarterfinals against the winner of the group that is also played in Turin. After that, it will probably be Italy or the USA," said Vedran Martić, the Croatia Davis Cup team coach. 

In the first phase, the competition is held in six groups, and the six group winners and the two best second-placed national teams move forward. 

Ahead of the Davis Cup competition, Borna Gojo said:

"I feel great. We will do our best and hope for the best result. Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić are already there to be ready to welcome opponents who are quality players in both teams. We are happy because we have Marin Čilić, who is in great shape and the best doubles team in the world. We will also try to play as well as possible. I think we have a really good chance to go further," said Gojo, while Nino Serdarušić added:

"We are ready to start the Davis Cup and can't wait to get to Turin. We know both opponents well, Australia and Hungary. Two weeks ago, I played against Hungarians, and I believe in our team, and I think we can achieve great results." 

Croatia has won two Davis Cups so far.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

November 7, 2019 - Marin Cilic announced on Thursday morning that he would not play in the Davis Cup this month in Madrid, to be held from November 18-24.

In a Facebook status to his 175,000 fans and an Instagram post to his 196,000 followers, Marin revealed:

With the 2019 season finished, I wanted to share an update with you all. The last year and a half has been a real struggle mentally and physically for me. Even with all the preventative work and rehab my team and I did, my recurring knee injury has continued to give me problems, and as the season progressed it was becoming more evident that surgery was inevitable. I recently did an ultrasound and luckily the results were better than expected.

The rehab work was successful enough that surgery is not necessary at this stage, however, I will need to undergo a few minor interventions which will keep me off the tennis court for a longer period and unfortunately means I will not be able to compete at the Davis Cup this month. I am extremely disappointed by this, but I believe in my teammates and will be their most devoted fan.

In the meantime, I will dedicate myself to getting back to form so that I can enter the 2020 season healthier, more prepared, and more motivated than ever. Thank you all for your constant support and I look forward to seeing you back on tour in 2020.”

Marin Cilic thus finished the 2019 season as the 39th best tennis player in the world. 

Croatia coach Zeljko Krajan allegedly knew about Cilic's problems and was ready to act in the event Cilic could not continue. According to Sportske Novosti, Krajan will return 40-year-old Ivo Karlovic to the national team. Karlovic jumped in back in 2016 thanks to a similar situation in the finals against Argentina. Then, Karlovic lost a crucial match against Federico Delbonis. Krajan’s other options were the much more inexperienced Viktor Galovic, Nino Serdarušić and Borna Gojo.

Croatia plays in Group B in Spain against Spain and Russia. Three matches will be played in one day, two in the singles competition and one in the doubles. The winners of the groups and the two best runner-up teams advance to the quarterfinals.

Borna Coric, Ivan Dodig, Nikola Mektic, and Mate Pavic will play for Croatia along with Ivo Karlovic.

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.

Two days from now, the qualifications begin for the Davis Cup World Group where Croatia will visit Colombia.