April 5, 2021 - Split tennis player Mate Pavić is again at the top of the ATP doubles rankings after July 2, 2018!

The news comes after Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić won their fourth joint title, and the first in the Masters 1000 series tournament.

The world's best tennis pair in 2021 won the Miami Open after beating Britons Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski 6-4, 6-4 in 75 minutes during Saturday's final.

They also became the first Croatians to boast a doubles title at the Miami Open and did it without losing a set. Thus, in their 28th appearance this season, Mektić and Pavić reached their 25th victory (25-3) and are convincingly the best doubles team in 2021.

“This is our first joint Masters 1000 title. It means a lot to us. The match was great. They had a break in the first set, it wasn’t easy at all. We are satisfied with how we played," said Mate Pavić after the duel that brought him back to the top of the ATP doubles rankings.

"For the first time, I was number one for about ten weeks. I hope I can go longer now. We are also the first in the doubles ranking. We deserve it. I hope we can continue like this ", commented Pavić.

Recall, Pavić remained on the throne for weeks in his first ascent to No. 1 and has now reached 9,010 points, just ten more than second-placed Colombian Robert Farah and 100 more than third in the standings, Farah's partner Juan Sebastian Cabal. Nikola Mektić is fourth (8,910), and in the Top 10 is Ivan Dodig (6,710) in 9th! 

Mektić and Pavić also became the leading doubles team this season with 3,065 points, pushing Australian Open winners Ivan Dodig and Slovak Filip Polasek (2,780) to second place.

In the individual competition, the best Croatian tennis player is Borna Ćorić, who did not play in Miami and fell by three positions, so he is now in 27th place. Marin Čilić jumped two places with a breakthrough to the round of 16 of the Miami Open and is currently the 43rd tennis player in the world.

Novak Djokovic welcomed his 315th week at number 1. Behind the Serbian tennis player are Russian Danil Medvedev, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, Austrian Dominic Thiem, and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. Among the top ten, the only change is that Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer swapped places - the German is now sixth and the Swiss player seventh.

Miami winner Pole Hubert Hurkacz made the jump from 21st place and is now in 16th, which is the best ranking in his career.

You could see the full ATP rankings HERE. 

Source: HRT

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February 7, 2021 - Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic have won the 1st edition of the Murray River Open in Melbourne, a new ATP Series 250 tournament leading up to the Australian Open. 

Two tournaments together, two titles together

In their second joint appearance, Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic have reached their second title (the first was in Antalya in mid-January). Their eighth consecutive victory in 2021 was achieved in the Murray River Open final against the French duo Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin - 7:6 (2), 6:3.

Nikola and Mate took the first set with a convincing edition in a tie-break, while in the second, they reached two breaks (in the first and ninth games), and they lost only two points on their serve.

Solid smiles after a solid week!

Top seeds @NMektic/Mate Pavic def. Martin/Chardy 7-6(2) 6-3 to win the Murray River Open doubles title ? pic.twitter.com/CuePJfNazN

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 7, 2021

This is Mate Pavic's 41st doubles final of his career and the 19th title, while Nikola Mektic played his 18th final and won the ninth title.

This fantastic result is an excellent lead-in to the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, where the Croatian duo is the second-seed of the tournament. 

The 2021 Murray River Open is played on outdoor hard courts in Melbourne, Australia. It was organized as a lead-up tournament to the 2021 Australian Open and is held at the same venue. 

More soon...

Source: HRT

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