Croatia's best tennis player Borna Ćorić advanced one place in the latest ATP rankings released on Monday and is now the 14th best tennis player in the world, while Marin Čilić remains in 17th place, reports HRT on July 29,  2019.

Ivo Karlović also registered progress and has climbed to the 80th position, while Viktor Galović dropped 21 places and is now the 221st best tennis player in the world. Nino Serdarušić advanced three spots to the 269th position.

This ATP ranking also showed no changes at the top. The top spot is convincingly held by Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic, while Spanish player Rafael Nadal is in second and Swiss player Roger Federer is in third. 

ATP Ranking, July 29, 2019:

1. (1) Novak Djokovic 12.415 

 2. (2) Rafael Nadal 7.945

 3. (3) Roger Federer 7.460

 4. (4) Dominic Thiem 4.595 

 5. (5) Alexander Zverev 4.415

 6. (6) Stefanos Tsitsipas 4.045

 7. (7) Kei Nishikori 4.040

 8. (8) Karen Chatschanow   2.890

 9. (10) Fabio Fognini  2.625 

10. (9) Daniil Medwedew 2.625

...

14. (15) BORNA ĆORIĆ 2.195    

17.(17) MARIN ČILIĆ 1.940    

 80. (81) IVO KARLOVIĆ 659

 221. (200) VIKTOR GALOVIĆ 211

 269. (272) NINO SERDARUŠIĆ 147

Croatia's best female tennis player Petra Martić remains in the 21st position in the latest WTA rankings released on Monday, while Donna Vekić has advanced one place and is now the 25th best female tennis player in the world.

Teresa Mrdeža has advanced six places, from 210th to 204th, and Jana Fett jumped 26 spots to be the 290th best in the world. Tena Lukas dropped eight places to 371st.

There are no changes among the WTA leaders. At the top is Australian Ashleigh Barty, followed by Japanese player Naomi Osaka, and Czech player Caroline Pliskova in third. 

WTA Ranking, July 29:

1. (1) Ashleigh Barty 6.605

2. (2) Naomi Osaka 6.257

3. (3) Karolina Pliškova 6.055

4. (4) Simona Halep 5.933    

5. (5) Kiki Bertens 5.130

6. (6) Petra Kvitova 4.785

7. (7) Elina Svitolina 4.638

8. (8) Sloane Stephens 3.802

9. (9) Serena Williams 3.411

10.( 10) Aryna Sabalenka 3.365

...

21.(21)    PETRA MARTIĆ 2.156

25. (26)    DONNA VEKIĆ 1.950    

204. ( 210) TEREZA MRDEŽA 294

290. (316) JANA FETT 176

371. (363) TENA LUKAS 109

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July 4, 2019 - Petra Martić is Croatia's last remaining hope in the singles competition of Wimbledon. 

Another victory for Petra Martić at Wimbledon! After defeating American Jennifer Brady by coming back from 0:1 in sets, Martić defeated18-year-old Russian Anastasia Potapova (71st on the WTA ranking) with a score of 3:6, 6:3, 6:4 for a spot in the 3rd round.

After losing the first set, Petra lost her service at the start of the second set, and things weren’t looking too promising. However, Petra woke up and started to play, and held her first strike firmly until the end of the match. In the decisive set, Petra broke her opponent already in the first game - and Potapova saw no return. 

On her way to the victory, Martić hit one ace, realized 60 percent of the first serve, and executed four out of nine break points (Potapova only three out of 17). With this win, Petra has reached a new career ranking - and is currently the 19th best female tennis player in the world. In the third round, Petra will play against American Danielle Collins.

After defeating the 7th seed Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas, it was Thomas Fabbiano (89th on the ATP ranking) to advance to the third round of this year's Wimbledon after he defeated Ivo Karlović in a big battle of five sets and more than three hours of play. Fabbiano won 6:3, 6:7 (6), 6:3, 6:7 (4), 6:4.

Fabbiano took Karlović’s serve on three occasions during the match, and Karlović had only one break point in the ninth game of the decisive set - Ivo played an excellent volley, but the Italian came back with a brilliant backhand on the line. Fabbiano won in the next game. In the end, Ivo managed 38 aces and realized 64 percent of his first serve.

Just like last year, Marin Čilić finished his Wimbledon tournament in the 2nd round. Namely, Portuguese player Joao Sousa (69th on the ATP ranking) defeated the 13th seed of the tournament and former finalist in an easy three sets - 6:4, 6:4, 6:4.

To make matters worse, before this game, Marin had not lost a single set in his four encounters against Sousa, though he was utterly helpless on Thursday. 

Namely, Čilić did not use any of the 12 break points in the match and made 46 unforced errors (Sousa only seven). He had nine aces (and realized 51 percent of the first serve) with as many as eight double faults. 

After this loss, it is almost impossible for Marin to keep his existing ranking  (18th) in the months ahead - and if we were to base his ranking on this year alone, he’d be 54th. 

In the doubles competition, Nikola Mektić and Franko Škugor won in the first round,  as did Mate Pavić and Brazilian partner Bruno Soares.

All results are courtesy of HTS.

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July 3, 2019 - Marin Čilić, Ivo Karlović, and Petra Martić have all advanced to the 2nd round of this year's Wimbledon.

HTS reports that Petra Martić opened this year's Wimbledon with a win! Martić advanced to the 2nd round of the third Grand Slam tournament of the season after her success against American Jennifer Brady, 67th on the WTA ranking, with a score of 3:6, 6:3, 6:4.

After Brady led 1:0 in sets, Petra managed a complete turnaround. 

The second set was settled after she broke Brady in the sixth game, while third in the third set Martić had a decisive advantage in the third game. At 5:4, Martić missed three match points, but had no problem sealing the victory in the next game. In the second round, Martić will play against Russian Anastasia Potapova, 71st on the WTA ranking. 

Ivo Karlovic also had no problem opening Wimbledon with a win. The legendary 40-year-old will compete in the 2nd round of the world's most famous tournament after defeating Italian qualifier Andrea Arnaboldi,  219th on the ATP ranking, 6:4, 6:4, 7:6 (4).

The match was marked by the overwhelming dominance of Karlović who did not allow a single break point. He hit 24 aces with 72 percent of his first serve, and realized two of his four chances to break. In the 2nd round, Karlović must defeat Italian Thomas Fabbiano (89th on the ATP ranking) who surprised the no. 6 player in the world, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Marin Čilić opened his 13th appearance at Wimbledon with a victory. The former finalist and 13th seed of the tournament overcame Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (42nd on the ATP ranking) with a score of 7:6(6), 7:6(4), 6:3.

However, Čilić could have come to the victory much easier, as he led 5:3 in the second set and missed serving for the set a game later. Mannarino then failed to capitalize on a set point at 6:5 and paid for it later when the tie-break went in favor of Čilić.

The third set winner was decided thanks to a break in the sixth game, leaving Mannarino with no return. This was the fourth encounter and third win for Marin against Mannarino. Čilić will play against Joao Sousa (69th on the ATP ranking) in the 2nd round.

Donna Vekić has unexpectedly finished her performance at this year's Wimbledon. In the 1st round, Vekić lost to American Alison Riske, 55th on the WTA ranking, 3:6, 6:3, 7:5.

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Wimbledon begins on Monday, July 1 and the draw for the singles and doubles competition was held on Friday. Who will our Croatian tennis stars face?

The current best Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić, who is the 14th seed in the tournament, will play against the best Slovenian tennis player Aljaza Bedene in the first round of the third Grand Slam tournament, the draw decided on Friday.

This will be the fifth encounter of Ćorić, the 14th best tennis player in the world, and Bedene, who is 86th in the ATP ranking. In the past four matches, Ćorić achieved three wins.

If he passes to the second round, Ćorić will play the winner of German Jan-Lenard Struff and Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. Against Struff, the 34th best player in the world, Ćorić has won twice in five meetings. Against Baghdatis, who is currently 138th ATP rankings, Ćorić celebrated in their only encounter. 

Marin Čilić, the 13th seed of Wimbledon, will play in the second round against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who he's played twice and defeated once. If Ćorić wins, he awaits the winner of Portuguese player Joao Sousa and British player Paul Jubb.

Ivo Karlović’s opponent in the first round is Italian Andrea Arnaboldi, the 209th tennis player in the world, who he has not met thus far. If the 40-year-old advances to the second round, he awaits the winner of Greek player Stefan Tsitsipas, the 7th seed of the tournament, and Italian Thomas Fabian.

In the women's competition, Croatia's best female player Donna Vekić will face American Alison Riske, 54th on the WTA ranking. If she advances to the second round, Vekić awaits the winner of Serbian player Ivana Jorović and Dutch player Lesley Kerkhove.

In the first round, the 24th seeded Petra Martić will face American Jennifer Brady, the 64th best tennis player in the world, for the first time. If she advances to the second round, Martić will play the winner of Russian Anastasia Potapova and Swiss player Jil Teichman.

In the first round of the doubles competition, Mate Pavić and Bruno Soares will meet Dutch duo Arends and Middelkoop, Ivan Dodig and partner Polasek will meet British duo Murray and Skupski, and Croatian duo Nikola Mektić and Franko Škugor will meet Lithuanian Berankis and Hungarian Fucsovics.

Wimbledon begins on Monday, July 1, and will play until July 14.

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Borna Ćorić is into the third round of Roland Garros in Paris, while Ivo Karlović was unable to overcome Jordan Thompson in the second round, announces HTS on May 30, 2019.

Ivo Karlović finished his 14th appearance at Roland Garros after losing in the 2nd round to Australian Jordan Thompson (ATP-69) after four sets - 6:3, 6:4, 6:7 2), 6:3.

It was a match where the 40-year-old Zagreb native lost service three times and did not see a break. His first strike was kept only in the third set, which he won after tie-breaks to his advantage. It should also be noted that during the duel the Australian made only five unforced errors, and Karlović 42. Karlović did, however, achieve 23 aces with 67 percent of his first service. After a win in Paris, Ivo will jump seven positions on the ATP ranking and will leave Roland Garros as the 87th best tennis player in the world.

Borna Ćorić advanced to the 3rd round of Roland Garros for the fourth time in his career. The Zagreb native (ATP-13) defeated South African Lloyd George Harris on Thursday, the 90th best tennis player in the world - 6:2, 6:3, 7:6 (2).

Ćorić fully controlled the result until the end of the third set, when he allowed Harris to return from 5:2 to 5:5 (at 5:3 was the only time in the match he lost his service). The game then went to a tie-break in which Borna immediately came to a significant advantage which he turned into a victory. Borna achieved a total of five aces with 62 percent of his first service and used five out of a total of nine break-points. 

Borna’s next rival will be German player Jan-Lennard Struff (ATP-45). It will be their fifth encounter, and Borna has celebrated in the last two meetings. 

Ćorić thus joins Petra Martić and Donna Vekić in the third round. Recall, Marin Čilić is no longer in the tournament after losing to Dimitrov on Wednesday. 

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Croatian tennis player Ivo Karlović joins Čilić, Ćorić, Martić, and Vekić in the 2nd round of Roland Garros after celebrating in the oldest duel in the history of the Grand Slam tournament in Paris. The 40-year-old Karlović defeated 37-year-old Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 7-6 (4), 7- 7 (7), 7-5 after three hours and six minutes of play, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on May 28, 2019. 

Karlović and Lopez played an excellent match in which Croatia’s veteran played better for the most critical points and achieved his eighth victory in their twelfth encounter.

Although Lopez consistently threatened Karlović’s service in the first set, at 0-30 twice, and once at 15-30, he did not have a single break point, while Karlović won only five points in six of Lopez's service games. In the decisive game, Karlović had his chance, and Karlović won the only point that went against the server in the tie-break. 

In the first part of the second set, Lopez was still the better player, and at 2-2 and 3-3 he had two breaks, though he missed the latter, which ultimately cost him the game. At 6-5, Karlović reached his first two break points in the match, while Lopez sent a forehand out to give Karlović the 2-0 lead in the sets.

During the third set, both players kept their first strike and left the excitement for a tie-break in which Karlović missed two match points before Lopez used his first set point. After Lopez missed a volley at 5-5 and offered Karlović a match point, it seemed that the end of the match was near, but for the next point, the Spaniard hit a backhand to return and had an 8-7 advantage.

In the sixth game of the fourth set, Lopez finally managed to take Karlović’s lead, confirmed the break and lead 5-3 - and it seemed that the winner would be decided in the fifth set. But Karlović disagreed with that scenario, and at 5-3 he returned the break, leaving Lopez without a point, and then once again took the Spaniard’s service for 6-5 and serves for the match. Not even the last game could pass without drama - Lopez reached a break point only to have Karlović hit two aces in a row. Karlović realized his third match point. 

Ivo Karlović will play against Australian Jordon Thompson in the 2nd round of Roland Garros. Interestingly, Karlović and Thompson played each other in Roland Garros two years ago, and Karlović won 6-7 (2), 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (4), 12-10.

Thus, Karlović is the oldest male player to win a match at Roland Garros in 45 years. He is also the oldest to win a Grand Slam game since Ken Rosewall in 1978 at the Australian Open. 

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At 40 years old, Croatian tennis player Ivo Karlović has advanced to the round of 16 at the Masters 1000 series tournament in Indian Wells. Karlović continued defying his age and defeated 29-year-old Indian player Prajnesh Gunneswaran 6:3 and 7:6 (3) after an hour and 13 minutes in the third round, reports HRT on March 11, 2019. 

Against the little-known Indian rival, Karlović played an excellent match with great serving, was strong playing at the net where he managed stunning volleys and was able to press his opponent at the right time in the return. He continued his winning series without a lost set.

The only two breaks in the match against Gunneswaran came in the first game, when it was 15:40 and after Karlović missed three of the first four services. But with two service winners, the Croatian tennis player pulled out of an unpleasant situation. On the other hand, when Gunneswaran found himself in trouble in the eighth game of the first set, Karlović used it and scored a break that brought him the first set of the match.

Karlović had the only break in the third game of the second set, but Gunneswaran was excellent, and the winner was decided in a tie break.

Gunneswaran made too many errors in the decisive game, while Karlović hit three aces - and there was no longer any uncertainty about who would move on. Karlović led 6:1, Gunneswaran reduced the lead to 6:3, but then Karlović secured his 16th ace of the game for an impressive victory.

In the fourth round, Karlović will play against 25-year-old Austrian Dominic Thieme, while Novak Djokovic would most likely be waiting for Karlović in the eventual quarterfinal.

Marin Čilić will play his round of 32 match against Canadian player Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday evening (Central European Time). Mate Pavić and doubles partner Oliver Marach will play on Wednesday. 

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Croatia’s best tennis player Marin Čilić, who is outside the world’s top 10 for the first time since October 2016, joins Ivo Karlović in the third round of the Masters Series 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, reports HRT on March 11, 2019. 

Marin Čilić, the 11th-seed of the tournament who was free in the first round, defeated Serbian tennis player Dušan Lajović, 45th on the ATP ranking, 6:3, 6:4 on Sunday.

This was the third meeting between Čilić and Lajović and the third victory of the Croatian player. This time, Čilić celebrated after an hour and 33 minutes of play.

At the start of the first set, Čilić took the service of his rival twice and led 4:0. In the eighth game, Čilić missed seven breaks but managed to secure the first set in the next game.

The second set saw a more equal game. Čilić took the service of his rival twice, and Lajović from Čilić once. In the tenth game, the Serbian tennis player had three breaks, but Čilić saved all of them and took advantage of his second match point. 

In the third round, Čilic will play against Canadian player Denis Shapovalov, who defeated American player Steve Johnson 6:3, 6: 4. In their only match so far, Čilić celebrated in Basel in 2018.

In the duel, Čilić won 77 percent of his first-serve points and Lajović only 55 percent.

This was Čilić’s sixth match of 2019 as he had to withdraw from two tournaments this year because of a knee injury. Čilić’s best result in Indian Wells was in 2016 when he reached the quarterfinals.

Ivo Karlović will play his third round match on Monday against Indian tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran. This will be the first meeting between the two players. 

Mate Pavić is representing Croatia in the doubles competition with partner Oliver Marach. The two will play in the round of 16 on Tuesday against Mackenzie McDonald and Reilly Opelka. 

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Just 92 minutes were needed for 40-year-old Ivo Karlović to overcome Borna Ćorić 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the second round of the Masters 1000 Series tournament in Indian Wells, reports HRT on March 9, 2019. 

It was Karlović’s third win in the same number of official matches against his fellow countryman and rival 18 years his junior. While the first two duels could still be attributed to Ćorić’s lack of experience, as they happened in 2015 and 2016, the defeat at Indian Wells, where Borna was the 11th-seed of the tournament, is indeed an indication that Karlović has a game for his younger compatriot.

Since Jimmy Connors in the 1995 tournament in Halle, no 40-year-old has managed to combine two victories on the ATP Tour. How Karlović beat Ćorić gives him the right to have something to hope for in the next round, where Indian tennis player Prajnesh Gunneswaran will be on the other side of the net.

In the first set, Karlović missed two chances to break before making the third break in the tenth game and thus won the first set of the match. In the second set, Ćorić went on to take over Karlović’s service, but he lost the acquired advantage in the next game. There was no new chance to break in the second set until the 13th game. Karlović again prevailed and left Ćorić with only two points.

"Dr. Ivo" had 20 aces in this duel but won the match thanks to the excellent realization of points against Ćorić's first service. Namely, Borna won only 58% of the points after the first service, and 76% after the second, which is a very unusual statistic.

As last year's semi-finalist in Indian Wells, Ćorić threatens to lose a few places on the ATP rankings, and Karlović, entering the 3rd round, pushes him to the top 80 in the world.

On Sunday, around 9:30 pm Central European time, Marin Čilić will play his second-round game. The 10th-seed at the start of the tournament awaits Serbian tennis player Dušan Lajovic, who is 45th on the ATP ranking. Čilić leads 2-0 in mutual duels.

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In this season’s first Masters 1000 series tournament in Indian Wells, 40-year-old Ivo Karlović secured his first win by knocking out 31-year-old Australian player Matthew Ebden (ATP-49) with a score of 7-6 (3) 7-6 (3) after one hour and 49 minutes of play. In the second round of the tournament, Karlović will play against the 11th-seed and fellow countryman, Borna Ćorić, reports 24 Sata on March 8, 2019. 

Karlović came to the victory in a unique way, through two tiebreaks in which he was superior, and in the second set, he managed to compensate for the loss of one service.

Karlović saved all three breaks in the first set and missed one - and at the start of the second set, in the second game, Ebden managed to pull 0-40 to prevent the Croatian veteran from reaching a more significant advantage. The Australian managed to get out of his crisis, and in the fifth game, had a break that he kept until the moment when his service was supposed to secure the second set. Though that match point never came. 

With a tiebreak Karlović was once again prevailed, just like in the first, and reached his first win in Indian Wells after 2014, ending a series of four consecutive defeats at the BNP Paribas Open where his best result was the quarterfinal in 2011. Karlović managed his second win over Ebden and now equalizes the Australian in mutual duels (2-2).

Both players took advantage of one of five breaks, though Karlović had significantly better use of the first service than the Australian.

His next rival is last year's semifinalist in Indian Wells and fellow countryman, 22-year-old Borna Ćorić. Ćorić currently leads 2-0 head-to-head with Karlović, though those games were played in 2015 and 2016 in Bucharest and Wimbledon when Ćorić was not entirely on the same qualitative level as he is today, even though he had already been named one of the highest hopes of world tennis.

Borna comes to Indian Wells off of a great result from the ATP tournament in Dubai, where he lost in the semifinal to the legendary Roger Federer 2-0 (6-2, 6-2).

Karlović and Ćorić will play their match on Saturday night in California, or Sunday morning Central European time. 

Marin Čilić is also competing in this tournament, where he will play Serbian player Dušan Lajović in the second round on Sunday. 

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