December 5, 2021 - Croatia is the second-best tennis team in the world after Russia celebrated in the Davis Cup final on Sunday in Madrid.

Russia celebrated the Davis Cup title after beating Croatia 2-0 in the final, winning both singles matches.

After Andrey Rublev defeated Borna Gojo 6:4, 7:6 (5) in the first match, bringing Russia the first point, Daniil Medvedev, the second-best tennis player in the world, defeated Marin Čilić 7:6 (7), 6:2, thus securing the Cup for Russia. 

Čilić played an excellent first set but failed to hold his momentum in the second against this year's US Open winner. 

In the first six games, both servers were efficient to reach a 3:3 score. In the seventh game, Čilić faced his first break point and ultimately missed a break point for 5:3.

The decision fell in the tie-break where Čilić led 4:2 but did not reach a single set point. Medvedev, on the other hand, used his third.

In the second set, Medvedev quickly reached a break and took a 3:1 lead which opened the door to victory. The Russian tennis player did not back down again and at 5:2 broke Čilić for the win and Russia's Davis Cup title. 

Croatia had a brilliant Davis Cup campaign this year, beating Australia and Hungary in the group stage, before topping Italy in the quarters and Serbia in the semifinal for a spot in the final this year. Recall, Croatia played without one of its top tennis players in this tournament - Borna Ćorić. 

Croatia thus remains on the two Davis Cup trophies. Croatia won the Cup in 2005 and 2018, and in addition to this final, they played and lost the final in 2016 (against Argentina in Zagreb).

This is the third Davis Cup trophy for Russia. They celebrated in 2002 and 2006. In addition to these victories, Russia has lost three finals (1994, 1995, and 2007).

DAVIS CUP FINAL:

RUSSIA - CROATIA 2-0

Medvedev - Čilić 7:6 (7), 6:2 
Rublev - Gojo 6:4, 7:6 (5)

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

January 23, 2020 - The Olive Picking World Championship, which takes place in Postira on Brac in the autumn, has been named the most creative event at the Creative Tourism Network awards in Madrid.

RTL.hr writes that the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) is presenting its tourism offer again this year at the FITUR fair in Madrid from January 22 to 26. On the first day of the fair, Croatian Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli and HTZ Director Kristjan Stanicic visited the Croatian booth. They also met with Spanish partners, tour operators and agencies such as Jet2com, Beautiful Destination and others.

“After Utrecht, Stuttgart, Helsinki, Vienna and Berlin, this month's total Croatian tourist offer is presented at the most important Spanish tourism fair in Madrid. Speaking of Croatia, Spaniards' favorite destinations are Dubrovnik, Zagreb, Split, Zadar, Hvar and the Plitvice Lakes. This year, we plan to improve the network of the Croatian National Tourist Board representative office by launching all the necessary procedures for opening an office in Madrid because of the extremely important Spanish market for us and the fact that the leading international tourist institutions are based here. Spaniards often travel and discover new destinations, and this is exactly the opportunity we need to take advantage of in 2020,” director Stanicic said, adding that last year, 315,000 arrivals and more than 708,000 overnights were generated from Spain, which represents a 10 percent increase compared to 2018.

The Creative Tourism Network awards ceremony was also held as part of the FITUR fair, and the award for the creative event of the year was given to the Olive Picking World Championship in the municipality of Postira on Brac, which took place in October last year. 

The Creative Tourism Network is an international non-profit organization specializing in the development of creative tourism. Among 160 entries and events, their expert jury decided that this Postira event was the most creative of its kind in the world because it innovatively preserves the centuries-old tradition and brings it closer to locals and tourists alike. The event was launched to promote the traditional Croatian custom of picking olives, but also to learn about the traditions of other Mediterranean countries. Twelve teams participated in the competition.

"Spain, together with France, is the leading country for the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Program, which will work with governments, destinations and tourism companies to reduce the environmental impact of tourism, which is also an important premise for Croatia to pursue as a tourism policy in the future. We used our stay in Madrid, the capital of one of the most visited countries in the world and the seat of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), to exchange experiences in managing sustainable development policies, which are also the backbone of Croatia's EU Council Presidency in the field of tourism. The experiences and best practices we exchanged during our meetings with leading tourism authorities and officials will greatly benefit from the development of a new National Tourism Development Strategy based on quality and responsible and sustainable business, using modern technologies as creative solutions for the future,” Minister Cappelli said.

In addition to the Croatian National Tourist Board as its main exhibitor, ten co-exhibitors are represented at the FITUR fair, including the tourist boards of the City of Zagreb and Dubrovnik-Neretva County and Abacus Tours, Illyria - Camp Soline, Atlas, Olivari, Nave Travel, Uniline, Valamar and HUP Zagreb.

Research shows that the main motives for Spaniards' trips abroad are leisure, relaxation and recreation (54 percent), followed by visits to friends and family (26 percent) and business trips (14 percent). When traveling abroad, Spaniards usually go by plane, and Spain's direct air connection with Croatia improves from year to year, especially in the summer flight schedule. Currently, three airlines are operating in the winter timetable: Croatia Airlines, Iberia and Vueling Airlines on the route Barcelona - Zagreb, Madrid - Zagreb and Barcelona - Dubrovnik.

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

November 20, 2019 - The Croatia tennis team will not defend their title at the Davis Cup this year. 

Gol.hr reports that the Croatia tennis team registered their second defeat in the final tournament of the new Davis Cup format. After losing to Russia 0:3 on Monday, the title defenders lost to Spain with an unreachable result of 0:2.

Roberto Bautista Agut scored the first point for Spain, beating Nikola Mektic 6:1, 6:3 in just 57 minutes of play. In the second match, Rafael Nadal, the world’s best tennis player, defeated Borna Gojo 6:4, 6:3 in 30 minutes.

Croatia was left with no prospect of reaching the quarterfinals, and thus without a chance to defend the title of Davis Cup.

Croatia needed a 3:0 win against Spain to stay in the top eight. However, without Marin Cilic, who did not travel to Madrid, and without Borna Coric, who retired from the tournament today due to exhaustion, it was nearly impossible to expect a 3:0 victory over Spain, led by Rafael Nadal.

After Coric pulled out on Tuesday, Nikola Mektic, who made his last singles appearance over two and a half years ago in the Cincinnati qualifiers, was chosen to save the day. 

Mektic and Bautista Agut, currently the ninth-best tennis player in the world, had never played one another before tonight. 

The Croatian tennis player won the first game, but that was all he showed in the rest of the set. With three breaks in 26 minutes, the Spaniard won the set with a score of 6:1. Agut continued his great series in the second set, receiving three games in a row. Mektic reduced it to 1:3, breaking Agut's nine-game streak.

By the end of the set, the 30-year-old Zagreb native no longer lost his serve, but failed to make up for the break and ended the set with a score of 6:3 for the Spaniard.

In the second match, the 21-year-old debutant for Croatia solidly resisted Nadal, especially in the first set.

Gojo held on to 4:4 in the first set, saving four break points - three in the first game and one in the seventh game. Unfortunately, in the ninth game, Nadal took away Gojo’s serve and then safely served for 6:4 after 45 minutes of play. In the second set, he lost his serve in the first and ninth games for the final score of 6:3.

Recall, the young Croatian tennis player, who played for American Wake Forest University, joined the Croatia team after Marin Cilic’s injury. 

Croatia will try to win a consolation point when Ivan Dodig and Ante Pavic face Marcel Granollers and Rafael Nadal in the final doubles match. 

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

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