July 14, 2019 - Croatian tennis player Ivan Dodig and his Taiwanese partner Latisha Chan won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon just a month and a half after they celebrated at Roland Garros.
The experienced 34-year-old who has specialized in playing doubles for the last few seasons made it to the men’s doubles semi-final with Slovakian partner Filip Polášek, though with Chan, he has gone all the way.
Dodig and Chan faced Swede Robert Lindstedt and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the final on Sunday which they won in two sets, 6:2, 6:3, and managed to overcome their opponents in an hour and nine minutes of play.
Dodig and Chan came out fierce and ready to win - and in less than 20 minutes, they led 5:0 in the first set. Although the Swedish-Latvian duo won two games in a row, it was impossible to get back into the game, as Dodig and Chan once again took Ostapenko's serve at 6:2.
Lindstedt and Ostapenko held their own in the second set, all until Dodig and Chan led 4:3 and at 15:40 used their first chance to break their opponent. Dodig and Chan had no problem serving for the match - and the rest was history.
Ivan Dodig and Latisha Chan beat Robert Lindstedt and Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-3 in the mixed doubles final at Wimbledon. pic.twitter.com/VBVCYt4Gw2
— ? Tennis on telly ??? (@tennisontelly) July 14, 2019
This is Dodig’s fourth Grand Slam title in his career. Recall, he has three titles in mixed doubles (and all three with Chan) and one in the men’s doubles competition. This is, however, his first Wimbledon win, as he has only celebrated at Roland Garros (French Open) so far.
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July 13, 2019 - Croatian tennis player Ivan Dodig and Taiwanese partner Latisha Chan are in the mixed doubles final of Wimbledon! The two-time Roland Garros winners achieved another Grand Slam final after defeating Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and his Czech partner Kveta Peschke 7:5, 6:4 on Friday, reports the Croatian Tennis Federation.
The critical moment of the first set was in the eleventh game where Dodig and Chan realized their second break point to lead 6:5, then won the game by 7:5 and secured the first set.
The second set saw several rallies, though it was Dodig and Chan to break their opponent first, which came in the third game. However, in the next game, the Dutch and Czech duo managed to equalize at 2:2. In the seventh game, Dodig and Chan broke their opponent again, and this time defended their advantage until the end.After 42 minutes of play, they won the second set with a score of 6: 4 and thus a spot in the Wimbledon final!
The Grand slam winners will play in the final against Swede Robert Lindstedt and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko who defeated Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop and Chinese partner Zhaoxuan Yang with a score of 7:5, 6:2 in the semi-final. Recall, Lindstedt and Ostapenko beat Franko Škugor and Romanian partner Raluca Olaru 6:7 (6), 6:3, 7:5 in the quarter-final.
Thus, Ivan Dodig will play in his seventh final at Grand Slam tournaments. So far, he has three titles, and all three at the tennis courts of Roland Garros (men’s doubles in 2015, mixed doubles in 2018 and 2019). This is his second final at Wimbledon after he lost in 2013 with Brazilian partner Marcelo Melo against Rajeev Ram and Raven Klaasen.
The Wimbledon final will be played on Sunday at 5 pm Croatian time.
Recall, Ivan Dodig is Croatia's last remaining representative at Wimbledon this year.
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June 7, 2019 - Ivan Dodig and Taiwanese partner Latisha Chan have defended their mixed doubles title at Roland Garros!
Mate Pavić and Ivan Dodig met in the mixed doubles final at Roland Garros on Friday with their partners Gabriela Dabrowski and Latisha Chan.
Recall, the second-seeded Dabrowski and Pavić secured their place in the final after defeating Ukraine's Nadiia Kichenok and Pakistan's Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi 6:7 (4), 6:1, 10:8 on Thursday, while Dodig and Chan defeated American Nicole Melichar and Brazilian Bruno Soares, the first seed of the tournament, in the other semi-final 6:2, 6:1.
Ivan Dodig and Latisha Chan made their first major step towards defending the Roland Garros title by winning the first set with a very convincing 6:1. It took Dodig and Chan only 23 minutes to take the set from Pavić and Dabrowski.
However, Pavić and Dabrowski were not going to let them get ahead so easy, and in the second set, they led 4:1. Dodig and Chan came back to win three consecutive games in the second set, equalizing at 4:4 and serving against Pavić and Dabrowski - and then equaled at 5:5! The second set then entered a tie-break.
In the end, it was Dodig and Chan to prevail yet again! The Croatian-Taiwanese duo defeated Pavić and Dabrowski 6:1, 7:6 in just 79 minutes.
This is the second year in a row that Croatia has a winner in the Grand Slam tournament in Paris. Recall, in 2018, Dodig and Chan celebrated against Pavić and Dabrowski 6:1, 6:7, 10:8.
Both Dodig and Pavić already have Grand Slam titles with their current partners. Namely, Dodig and Chan celebrated at Roland Garros last year, while Pavić and Dabrowski won the Australian Open last year. Pavić and German partner Friedsam won the 2016 title at US Open, too.
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