January 9, 2021 - Croatian tennis veteran Ivo Karlovic has become the oldest player to win an ATP match since Jimmy Connors in '95.
24 Sata reports that 41-year-old Croatian tennis player Ivo Karlovic (ATP - 148) won his first game of the new season by defeating Spanish tennis player Pablo Andujar (ATP - 59) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in the 1st round match of the ATP tournament in Delray Beach, USA. It took Karlovic two hours and 16 minutes of play to claim the victory.
It was their second match, and Karlovic reached his first victory by firing 27 aces, and winning three of nine breakpoints, one in each set.
In the second round, Karlovic will face 28-year-old Ecuadorian Roberto Quiroz (ATP - 293), who advanced to the tournament through qualifications. In the 1st round, he was better than American player Noah Rubin (ATP - 251) 7-6 (1), 6-3.
Karlovic had a decisive break in the eighth game of the first set and realized the third set point in the next. Andujar took a 2-0 lead in the second, but the Croatian veteran immediately came back. The 34-year-old Spaniard managed to take the match to the third set with a new break point in the 12th game.
With a break point in the fifth game of the decisive set, Karlovic gained an advantage that he kept until the tenth game in which he used his second match point.
Ivo Karlovic won the title at this tournament in 2015, defeating American Donald Young in the final, and five years earlier, he was defeated in the final by Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
This is the 23rd season of Ivo’s career, and at its opening, he became the oldest player with an ATP tour win since Jimmy Connors in 1995.
"It's true almost every match that I win, now at my age, it is history,” Karlovic said after the victory.
Karlovic will play in the round of 16 on Sunday against Roberto Quiroz.
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September 3, 2020 - Petra Martic and Borna Coric are the first Croatian representatives to advance to the US Open's third round. Donna Vekic and Marin Cilic will play in the second round today.
Petra Martic was the first of the Croatian representatives to advance to the 3rd round of the US Open, after defeating Ukrainian Katerina Bondarenko (349th on the WTA list) in the 2nd round on Wednesday without any major problems. Martic celebrated 6:3, 6:4.
Petra was especially dominant at the beginning of the first set, where she quickly took a 5:1 lead. Bondarenko reduced it to 5:3, but couldn't do more than that.
The second set was far more uncertain and was decided after a break in the 10th game. Martic scored eight aces with a first-serve percentage of 64 percent and used only four of 16 break points.
To advance to the round of 16, she will play against Russian Varvara Gracheva, the 102nd-best player on the WTA list. They played recently in the 1st round of the WTA tournament in Prague, where Petra was better in two sets.
Borna Coric also advanced to the third round of the US Open and thus surpassed last year's result when he was forced to hand over the match to Grigor Dimitrov due to injury in the second round.
After a smooth victory in three sets against Pablo Andujar, Coric faced Juan Ignacio Londero. The match started with an early exchange of breaks, and the next came at 5:5 when Borna took the Argentine's serve and soon took the set with 7:5.
In the second set, Londero was the one who had the initiative, but at the end of the set, Borna returned and reduced the score to 5:4. Instead of directing the set towards a tie-break, he lost the next service game and automatically the set with 6:4.
In the third set, Borna missed too much. He started great and took a 4-1 lead, and instead of routinely doing the job and taking a 2-1 lead in sets, he allowed Londero to come back, and the Argentine took the set in a tie-break.
Coric was much more concentrated in the next two sets. In the fourth, he broke Londero twice and took the set with 6:2, and in the fifth, he broke in the fourth game, which was enough to advance to the next round.
Coric will have a much harder job in the third round when he faces Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Croatia's second female representative Donna Vekic passed the first round of the US Open. The Osijek native and 18th seed defeated Czech Kristyna Plišková (66th on the WTA list) - 3:6, 7:6 (6), 6:4.
Pliškova was close to victory; after winning the first set, in the second, she took the 5:3 lead, and at 5:4, she served for the match. Donna still managed to celebrate in the tie-break of the second set.
In the third set, she managed to find a way to succeed after a break in the ninth game. During the match, she scored six aces (Pliškova 16) with a first-serve percentage of 57 percent and used three of the eight break points. In the second round, she will play against Romanian Patricia Maria Tig, the world's 88th-best tennis player.
It took three hours and 33 minutes for Marin Cilic (ATP - 38th) to beat American Denis Kudla (ATP - 111th), which he reached after his opponent led 2-0 in sets and had a 5:3 lead in the third set. Cilic celebrated 6:7 (3), 3:6, 7:5, 7:5, 6:3. It was the eighth turnaround of this sort in Cilic's career, half of which occurred at the US Open, where he is playing for the 12th time.
Marin Cilic will play Slovak tennis player Norbert Gombos (104th on ATP list) in the second round on Thursday.
Ivo Karlovic finished his performance at his 17th US Open. The 41-year-old from Zagreb was stopped in the first round by the Frenchman Richard Gasquet (51st on the ATP list) - 7: 6 (0), 7: 6 (4), 6:1.
Ivo missed his opportunity to do something more in this match in the second set in which he reached his only break in the duel, and later a 5:3 advantage. Still, Gasquet returned in the 10th game, and the story once again went to a tie-break in which the Frenchman took the 2-0 lead.
Ivo gave up in the third set. After the initial 1:1, the Frenchman went to victory with a large series. Ivo achieved 20 aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 57 percent, and used one of six break points.
Of the three Croatian representatives in doubles who played in the 1st round of the US Open on Wednesday, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic made their way further.
Mektic and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof (8th seed) celebrated at the start against Serbian Nikola Cacic and Indian Divi Sharan (6:4, 3:6, 6:3), while Pavic and Brazilian Bruno Soares (5th seed) topped Spaniard Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horace Zeballos - 3:6, 6:4, 6:4.
Franko Skugor and American Austin Krajicek lost to 3rd seed, American Rajeev Rama and Briton Joe Salisbury (6:2, 6:7 (5), 6:3).
Source: HTS
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August 30, 2020 - Croatian tennis players have learned their opponents in the first round of the US Open, to be held from Monday, August 31, 2020, in New York.
The best-ranked Croatian tennis player Borna Coric will play Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the first round of the US Open. Marin Cilic will play against the American Denis Kudla, and Ivo Karlovic will face the Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while the two female Croatian representatives will face two Czech opponents - Petra Martic against Tereza Martincova, and Donna Vekic against Kristyna Plišková.
The US Open begins Monday, August 31, 2020, at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York and will end September 13.
For the first time since 2003, there were no title defenders in the draw, as Canadian Bianca Andreescu and Spaniard Rafael Nadal will not participate in this year’s tournament.
The first seed is the best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, who will play in the first round against the Bosnian-Herzegovinian representative Damir Dzumhur. The second seed, Austrian Dominic Thiem, will play against Spaniard Jaume Munar.
In the women's competition, only four of the top ten tennis players were in the draw, and the first-seed is third in the WTA rankings, Karolina Pliškova from the Czech Republic. Her rival is Ukrainian Angelina Kalinin. The second-seed is the current winner of the Australian Open, American Sofia Kenin, who will play against Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer in the first round.
Returning to the court, Belgium's Kim Clijsters will play against Russia's 21st-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Serena Williams, who will try to win her 24th individual Grand Slam title, has won compatriot Kristie Ahn as her rival.
Coric (ATP - 33rd) has never played against 34-year-old Andujar (ATP - 53rd), and the winner of the 2014 US Open Marin Cilic (ATP - 37th) beat 28-year-old Kudl (ATP - 111th) in four sets (6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5) five years ago in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.
The oldest player in the tournament, 41-year-old Ivo Karlovic (ATP - 125th), will compete in his 16th appearance at the US Open for the seventh time in his career against seven-year-younger Gasquet (ATP - 50th), who defeated him five times. But Karlovic's only victory came at the US Open nine years ago, when Ivo celebrated in four sets (6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6).
Coric was the 27th-seed in the upper part of the draw, while Cilic (31st) and the unplaced Karlovic were in the lower half.
Petra Martic (WTA - 14th) was placed eighth, and 25-year-old Tereza Martincova (WTA - 135th) was defeated (6-4, 7-5) in their only match played in 2015 in Bad Gastein, Austria.
Donna Vekic (WTA - 24th) will enter the duel against 28-year-old Kristyna Plišková (WTA - 64th) with a 2-1 advantage in mutual duels, and as the 18th-seed of this year's US Open, where she will defend her best result at the Grand Slam tournaments - last year's quarterfinals, when Swiss Belinda Benčić stopped her.
Martic was in the upper half and Vekic in the lower half of the draw.
Source: HRT
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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.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2020
"It's really great to have them around and my whole team is the best" ?#AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/GqZ6NbuNfM
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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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.
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October 18, 2019 - Marin Cilic booked a spot in the quarterfinal of the ATP Tournament in Moscow after defeating fellow countryman Ivo Karlovic 6:1, 7:6 in the Croatian round of 16. It was their seventh encounter and the fourth victory for Cilic.
HRT writes that Karlovic and Cilic last played two years ago in the semifinal of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships, when Karlovic, who is nine years Cilic’s senior, celebrated in three sets.
This time, however, Marin Cilic was better and won after an hour and 24 minutes of play.
Cilic entered the match like a hurricane, and with two breaks, he led 5:0. Karlovic struggled to reduce the score to 5:1, and in the next game, Cilic safely served for a 1:0 lead in sets after 28 minutes of play.
In the first set, Karlovic had major problems with his strongest weapon, his serve. He achieved only one ace service with a modest first-serve percentage of 39 percent.
In the second set, we saw a much closer fight.
Cilic had two break points in the first game, but the Croatian veteran saved both. Karlovic’s big opportunity came in the eighth game, when he had two consecutive and three total break opportunities, but he did not use any.
The set was eventually decided in the thirteenth game. Cilic took the lead with 4:2, Karlovic tied it at 5:5, but Marin then won two games in a row for the victory. With this victory, Cilic also booked his 500th match win.
5️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ ?
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 17, 2019
Congratulations, @cilic_marin! ? pic.twitter.com/6GrchDszWz
Recall, Karlovic defeated Slovenian Aljaz Bedene in the first round 6:4, 6:7 (5), 7:6 (6), while Cilic, as the third-seed in the Kremlin Cup, was free. Cilic now awaits Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the quarterfinal, who beat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6:3, 6:4 in the 2nd round match.
Cilic and Chardy have played five times so far, with Cilic leading 3:2 in wins. They last played two years ago in Monte Carlo, where Cilic celebrated 6:3, 6:0.
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October 16, 2019 - A Croatian round of 16 awaits at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow, as Ivo Karlovic and Marin Cilic are set to meet on Thursday.
Gol.hr writes that Croatian tennis player Ivo Karlovic saved the match point in a decisive tie-break on Tuesday - and after battling for two hours and 11 minutes in the first round of the Kremlin Cup, he defeated Slovenian Aljaž Bedene 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (6). In the round of 16, Karlovic awaits an all Croatian duel, with Marin Cilic on the other side of the net.
It was the fifth encounter between the 40-year-old Karlovic and 30-year-old Slovenian, in which the Croatian veteran reached his first victory.
In the first set, Karlovic needed a break to take the 3-2 lead to win. In the second set, he missed a chance to break in the first game and saved Bedene's only break point in the eighth game, forcing the game to a tie-break. Bedene managed to score one point on Karlovic's serve, which was enough for him to win the set.
Karlovic had the only chance to break in the third set with a 4-3 lead, but Bedene came back. The Slovenian led by 5-2 in the decisive tie-break, but Karlovic returned to 5-5 and led 6-5 to save the match point. Karlovic also scored the next two points, reaching his 11th win of the season (11-14).
Karlovic scored 35 aces to win, achieving a first-serve percentage of 85 percent and 58 percent on the second serve. Bedene scored three more points (107-104) overall, but that wasn't enough for the victory.
In the fight for the quarterfinal, Karlovic will play against Marin Cilic who, as the third-seed of the Kremlin Cup, was free in the first round. In their six encounters so far, Karlovic and Cilic have each won three times. Karlovic and Cilic last played two years ago in the semifinal of the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships. Karlovic, who is nine years older than Cilic, won in three sets.
The round of 16 match between Karlovic and Cilic is scheduled for Thursday.
On Tuesday, the first-seed Russian Danil Medvedev, who just won the ATP Masters 1000 Series tournament in Shanghai, dropped out of the tournament in Moscow. He has played in six consecutive finals, after all. Medvedev was replaced in the main draw by a lucky loser from the qualifications, Serbian tennis player Nikola Milojevic.
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August 28, 2019 - Marin Čilić, Borna Ćorić, Petra Martić, and Donna Vekić will play in the 2nd round of the US Open.
HTS reports that Petra Martić was the first to advance to the 2nd round of the US Open, the last Grand Slam tournament of the season in New York. Still, it was no easy match for the 28-year-old. Slovenian Tamara Zidanšek, the 66th best tennis player in the world, took the match to the third set against the 22nd seed of the tournament, though Petra was untouchable for the final 6:4, 4:6. 6:1.
However, Croatia’s best female tennis player could have settled the duel in two sets, as she had an advantage of 5:2, but Zidanšek equalized after a powerful series. Petra totaled five aces and a first-serve percentage of 58%. She also used five of 13 break points. In the second round, she will play against Romanian qualifier Ana Bogdan, 152nd in the WTA ranking.
Borna Ćorić successfully opened this year's appearance at the US Open. The 22-year-old Zagreb native moved past Russian qualifier Evgeny Donskoy (122nd in the ATP ranking) - 7:6 (7), 6:3, 6:0. Donskoy did not reach a break point throughout the match, but was dangerous in the first set where he had a 4:1 advantage in a tie-break, and at 7:6, a set point. After he won the first set, Borna went on to win the match. Donskoy held on to 3:3 in the second set, and was out of the game until the end. Borna (using four of seven break points) managed two aces and a first-serve percentage of 60%. He also achieved 31 straight points with 28 unforced errors (Donskoy 33). His next rival will be Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov, currently the 78th best tennis player in the world.
We saw an excellent performance by Marin Čilić at the start of this year's US Open, which saw the 22nd seed and former winner of the tournament (2014) overcome Slovakian Martin Klizan (83rd in the ATP ranking) - 6:3, 6:2, 7:6 (6).
However, Čilić did not enter the match best, and the Slovakian led in the first set 3:1. After that, Marin played better and solved the first and second sets with an impressive series of nine games won. In the third set, both players firmly held their first strike, so the decision fell to a tie-break where Klizan had four set points at 6:2, but Marin ended the match with six consecutive points, scoring 17 aces, a first-serve percentage of 59%, and used four of nine break points. In the second round, Čillić will play against German Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.
Donna Vekić was the last of Croatia’s representative to qualify for the 2nd round on Tuesday after she topped Dutch qualifier Richel Hogenkamp, the 207th player in the WTA raking - 7:6 (4), 6:3. Far more excitement was seen in the first set, in which Hogenkamp led 3:1, and at 6:5 she had the serve to be up 1:0. However, Donna managed to stop Hogenkamp and secured the win in the second set after 2:2 with two new breaks. She hit four aces (with a first-serve percentage of 48%) and used five of 10 break points. She had 36 winners, but made as many as 30 unforced errors. Donna’s 2nd round contender will be 34-year-old Estonian Kaia Kanepi, currently the 82nd best player in the world.
Ivo Karlović ended his performance at this year's US Open in the first round. After 69 minutes of play, Karlović lost to American Frances Tiafoe2:6, 3:6, 2:1.
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August 13, 2019 - Marin Čilić, Ivo Karlović, and Petra Martić are out in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters.
Croatian tennis players did not have the best start to the Cincinnati Masters on Monday, known as the oldest tennis tournament in the United States played in its original city, announces HTS.
Namely, Marin Čilić had a swift goodbye to the Masters 1000 Series tournament in Cincinnati. The 2016 winner of the competition and 14th seed was knocked out in the first round by Moldovan Radu Albot (39th on the ATP list) - 6:4, 7:6 (6).
It was an unconvincing and underwhelming performance by Čilić who managed 41 unforced errors during the match (Albot only had 21) and did not use any of the six break points. He lost the first set after the break in the third game, and in the second set, he missed six set points - two at the 5:4 lead, two at 6:5 (15:40), and two in the tie-break leading 6:4. Čilić managed a double fault on his only set point on his serve (6: 5 in the tie-break).
It was their second encounter and the first victory for the Moldovan player. Marin did not defend points from last year's semifinal, and with this defeat, he has dropped out of the top 20 in the ATP list and is currently ranked 22nd.
After Toronto, Petra Martić finished her performance in the first round of the WTA portion of the tournament in Cincinnati. Croatia’s best female tennis player lost to the ninth-best tennis player in the world, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka - 6:1, 6:4.
Petra couldn’t catch the right rhythm throughout the match - the first set was settled after the Belarusian led 5:0, though it was a much more equal encounter for the remainder of the match. Martić had a break point to lead 3:2, but in the next game, she lost her first strike, which decided the match. In the 10th game, Petra had three break points (0:40) to return to the match, but Sabalenka managed to keep her serve (saving all seven break points in the match) and the winner was decided in two sets.
After brilliantly completing two qualifying rounds, Ivo Karlović was not able to continue his run in Cincinnati on Monday. Karlović struggled to find the right solution for the ever-better German Jan-Lennard Struff (36th on the ATP list), who dominated Ivo in two sets - 7:5, 7:6 (4).
The only break in the match occurred in the 12th game of the first set, with both players holding their first strikes for the remainder of the game. The game was ultimately decided in a tie-break where Ivo led 4:3, but by the end of the match, he had not even won a point. The Zagreb native achieved 16 aces, had a first-serve percentage of 62 percent, and did not have a break point during the match.
However, not all hope is lost. The first-round duel of Borna Ćorić and American Reilly Opelka was interrupted by rain at 6:4, 3:6, 4:3. The American player is serving in the eighth game of the third set, and Ćorić has a 0:15 lead. The winner of the match will play against Alex de Minaur of Australia who defeated Italian Marco Cecchinato (5) 6:7, 6:1, 6:2.
The remaining Croatian female representative, Donna Vekić, will play her first-round match at 5 pm Croatian time on Tuesday against Czech Katerina Siniakova.
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