March 26, 2022 - After celebrating his first victory in 12 months when he defeated Fernando Verdasco in the first round, Borna Ćorić was stopped in the 2nd round of the Miami Open. 

In the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami, Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić lost to German Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.

It was their seventh meeting and the fourth victory for the world #4 player and the second seed of the tournament. However, this match showed that Borna is slowly getting in the right shape after a long break due to injury. 

The first set was equal until the result was 4-4, and both tennis players kept their serve. But in the ninth game, Zverev broke and safely served for 6-4 to lead 1-0 in sets.

The Croatian tennis player entered the second set brilliantly. With one break, he took a 3-0 lead and then kept the game advantage until the end of the set, when he won 6-3 after 38 minutes of play.

Unfortunately, Zverev fought back at the opening of the third set by winning three games in a row, after which Borna was unable to return. He had a break to return to the match in the ninth game, but Zverev then got the next two points to win.

Borna scored two aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 65 percent and used one of two break points (Zverev two of three). He will have his next appearance in three weeks at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo.

In the next round of Miami, Zverev will play against the match winner between Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and American Mackenzie McDonald.

Borna recorded his first victory after 12 months by defeating Verdasco in the 1st round of Miami. In his second return appearance after injury, the 25-year-old from Zagreb defeated Spaniard Fernando Verdasco (123rd in the ATP ranking) in two sets - 6-4, 7-5.

It was his first celebration since Rotterdam in early March 2021 when he defeated Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals. 

Croatia has another singles representative at the tournament in Miami. Namely, Marin Čilić will face Australian Alexei Popyrin in the 2nd round.

Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić also advanced to the second round of Miami. The best doubles team in the world last year surpassed the Georgian-Serbian side of Nikoloz Basilashvili / Laszlo Gere in the first round - 7-6 (3), 6-1.

Source: HTS

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January 24, 2022 - The latest at the Australian Open 2022, as Marin Čilić ends his campaign in the last 16, Petra Martić moves to the women's doubles quarters and Ivan Dodig to the mixed doubles quarters. 

Croatia's best tennis player Marin Čilić lost to Canadian tennis player Felix Auger Aliassime 2-6, 7-6 (9), 6-2, 7-6 (4) in the Australian Open last 16 on Monday.

Marin played a great first set to take the lead. In the second, he had a set point in the tie-break at 6-5, but Auger Aliassime returned to win the second set and ultimately turn the match in his favor. 

In the third set, there was no chance to break until the third game. Čilić then saved four break points for a turnaround but failed on the fifth. Auger-Aliassime broke in the seventh game and won the third set on his serve. Čilić was unable to come back.

At the beginning of the fourth set, Čilić saved two break points, and the set ended in a tie-break. In the 13th game, Auger-Aliassime took a 3-0 lead which he maintained to win the match 6-4 and advance to the quarterfinals.

This was Auger-Aliassime's first victory in his fourth match against Čilić, who had won in the previous three matches. Čilić missed the opportunity to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open for the third time in his career. In 2010, he played in the semifinals, and in 2018, he lost in the final to Roger Federer.

Auger-Aliassime will play in the quarterfinals against the second-best tennis player in the world, Russian Daniil Medvedev, who defeated American Maxim Cressy 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 7-5.

Petra Martic and Shelby Rogers have reached the women's doubles quarterfinals in Melbourne, beating the fifth-seeded side, Chilean Alex Guarachi and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez in two sets (6-2, 7-6 (2).

This is their second joint quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament after they managed to do the same last year at Roland Garros. They will face Japan's Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara for a spot in the semis. 

Ivan Dodig will play in the Australian Open mixed doubles quarterfinals. Dodig and French partner Kristina Mladenovic defeated the Australian combination of Arina Rodionova and Marc Polmans 6-2, 6-7 (8), 10-8.

They will play against Erin Routliffe and Michael Venus for a spot in the semis. 

Source: HTS

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January 22, 2022 - Marin Čilić is in the Australian Open last 16 after beating one of the world's best tennis players, Andrey Rublev, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-3!

Marin Čilić easily won the first two sets, complicated the following two, but ultimately served for the match and victory. Marin will face Félix Auger-Aliassime next. 

“I enjoyed every single second of the match. I had so much fun and played great tennis. I tried to be aggressive, you can’t give these top guys the chance to hit – and I think it worked. I’m feeling really excited, it’s going to get tougher," Čilić said after the match, as reported by The Guardian.

Petra Martić and American tennis player Shelby Rogers will play in the third round of the women's doubles competition after beating 11th seeded Ukrainian Lyudmila Kichenok and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. For a spot in the quarterfinals, they will face the 5th seeded Chilean Alexa Guarachi and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez.

The mixed doubles tournament also started, in which Ivan Dodig and French partner Kristina Mladenović reached the second round with a 6-7 (4), 6-4, 10-3 victory over the Belgian pair Kirsten Flipkens - Sander Gille.

Ivan Dodig and Brazilian Marcelo Melo did not advance in the men's doubles tournament, losing 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the second round to Italians Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.

The world's best doubles team Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić lost on Friday in the second round of the Australian Open to Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (8), 3-6 in a match that lasted an hour and 36 minutes.

Mektić and Pavić lost the serve at the beginning of the match, but they managed to get it back in the next game, and then broke for a 4-2 lead. Kokkinakis and Kyrgios immediately came back and the first set went into a tie-break. In the 13th game, the Croatian duo managed to save three set points, but the Australian side managed to realize the fourth.

The sixth game of the second set was fatal for Mektić and Pavić, in which they managed to save two break points, but not the third. Kokkinakis and Kyrgios took a 4-2 lead. By the end of the match, the Croatian duo did not have the opportunity to return and the Australians were able to celebrate their spot in the third round.

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January 20, 2022 - Marin Čilić has moved to the 3rd round of the 2022 Australian Open, where he will face the 5th seed of the tournament - Russian Andrey Rublev. 

Croatia's best tennis player Marin Čilić advanced to the 3rd round of the Australian Open Grand Slam tournament, defeating Slovak Norbert Gombos 6:2, 6:3, 3:6, 7:6 (6) in Melbourne in two hours and 42 minutes of play. Čilić (ATP-27) justified the role of the favorite against Gombos, the 117th player in the world, in their first duel.

Čilić won the first set smoothly, but his problems started in the third set when Gombos took his serve for the first time in the second game. When Marin broke in the fifth game, the Slovak went to 3:4 and won the set.

The fourth set was entirely even and went to the tie-break, in which Marin led 4:2, Gombos returned, and at 6:5, he even has a set point on his serve. However, Čilić won three points in a row and prevented the match from going to the fifth set.

Čilić had 20 aces and only two double faults in the match with a first-serve percentage of 56 percent, 46 winners, and 56 unforced errors.

In the 3rd round, Čilić will go against the tournament's fifth seed - Russian Andrey Rublev. The Russian tennis player lost in their first clash in Geneva in 2015 and celebrated in the following five matches. 

Croatian tennis player Ana Konjuh said goodbye to the Australian Open after losing in the 2nd round to American Danielle Collins 4:6, 3:6 in 80 minutes of play. Unfortunately, Konjuh (WTA-58) did not find a way to confront the 30th-best player in the world in their first clash.

The Dubrovnik native lost her first serve in the second game, returned to the match by saving two set-points at 3:5, but immediately in the next game, she gambled at 40:15 and lost the set. Konjuh's lost service in the second game of the second set proved fatal, and all that she had until the end of the match was one unused break-point at 3:5.

Konjuh had 8 double faults in this match and no aces. She had more winners than Collins (16-14) and more unforced errors (26-18). The American used all three break points. 

Source: Index.hr

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January 18, 2022 - Marin Čilić and Ana Konjuh have advanced to the second round of the 2022 Australian Open, while Donna Vekić and Petra Martić ended their run in the first round. 

Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić (ATP - 27th) advanced to the second round of the Australian Open, defeating Ecuadorian Emilio Gomez 6:3, 6:1, 6:2 after one hour and 43 minutes of play.

The only Croatian representative in the men's competition easily topped the 153rd tennis player in the world, who won a place in the main tournament through qualifications.

Čilić lost only six games and took advantage of seven break opportunities out of 11. Gomez made one break in the first set.

In the second round, Čilić will play against Slovak Norbert Gombos (ATP - 117th), also a qualifier, who defeated Timofey Skatov 6:3, 6:2, 1:6, 6:4 in the first round.

Ana Konjuh (WTA - 58th), the last Croatian representative in the main part of the tournament, advanced to the second round in the women's competition.

After two hours and 19 minutes of play, Konjuh defeated American Shelby Rodgers (WTA - 36th) 4:6, 6:3, 7:5.

In the third set, Konjuh was the first to break and served at 5:4 to end the match in her favor. However, Konjuh did not use three match points, and Rodgers returned. But Konjuh broke gain, won eight points in a row, and advanced to the second round. Konjuh had 5/9 on break points, and Rodgers 4/8. 

This was her first Grand Slam victory since Wimbledon in 2017. In the second round, Konjuh will play against the match winner between Danielle Rose Collins and Caroline Dolehide.

Donna Vekić finished her jubilee, 10th appearance at the Australian Open in the first round It was her premiere performance of the new season. Vekić lost to American Alison Riske (46th on the WTA list), winning only four games - 6:2, 6:2. Donna scored three aces, had a first-serve percentage of 44 percent, and did not reach a single break point. This was their sixth meeting and the third victory for the 31-year-old American.

After Vekić, Petra Martić was easily defeated in the first round after two sets against Jil Teichmann, 37th on the WTA list - 6:3, 6:3. Petra started the match with a break, only to lose her serve twice by the end of the set. The second set was decided after breaks in the third and ninth games. Martić scored two aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 55 percent and used one of four break points.

This was Petra's 11th appearance at the Australian Open and seventh defeat in the first round.

Source: HTS 

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January 13, 2022 - Great news for Marin Čilić as he has advanced to the Adelaide International semis for the second week in a row. 

Marin Čilić will play in the semifinals of the ATP Series 250 tournament in Adelaide for the second week in a row! In the quarterfinal match, he celebrated against American Tommy Paul, the 41st player on the ATP list, 6:4, 2:6, 6:3.

The decision fell in the third set after a break in the eighth game, in which Čilić came to his second victory in his second match against the American player. Čilić recorded 14 aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 58 percent and used two of the eight break points. 

His opponent in the fight for the final will be the winner of the match between Kokkinakis and Vukić.

Recall, Marin Čilić lost in the semifinal of the Adelaide International 1 last Saturday. The best Croatian tennis player lost to Karen Khachanov (ATP 29) 7:6 (3), 6:3. This was the first victory for the Russian in their third meeting. Čilić was better in Cincinnati in 2018 (7:6, 3:6, 6 4) and last year in St. Petersburg, where he beat Khachanov 6:4, 6:7, 6:4 on the way to the title.

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo advanced to the final of the same tournament last weekend but lost to Rohana Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan. However, Dodig and Melo have advanced to the semifinal of the Adelaide International 2 and will face Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski on Friday.  

In other news, Ana Konjuh lost in the quarterfinal match in Adelaide against Cori Gauff.

Third-seeded Cori Gauff, the 19th tennis player in the world, was too high an obstacle for Ana Konjuh in the quarterfinal match of the WTA 250 Series tournament in Adelaide. The American player came to victory in two sets - 6:3, 6:4.

Ana kept the score in the first set to 2:2, and in the second to 3:3, after which Gauff created an unattainable advantage. The Dubrovnik native recorded a total of five aces with a first-serve percentage of 54 percent and used two of the three break points (the American four of 11).

Source: HTS

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January 8, 2022 - While Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić has been knocked out in the Adelaide semifinal, not all hope is lost, as Ivan Dodig will fight in the Adelaide International doubles final with partner Marcelo Melo. 

Marin Čilić lost in the semifinal of the Adelaide International on Saturday. The best Croatian tennis player lost to Karen Khachanov (ATP 29) 7:6 (3), 6:3. This was the first victory for the Russian in their third meeting. Čilić was better in Cincinnati in 2018 (7:6, 3:6, 6 4) and last year in St. Petersburg, where he beat Khachanov 6:4, 6:7, 6:4 on the way to the title.

It is interesting to point out that Croatian coach Vedran Martić is again the coach of Khachanov after he parted ways with Čilić at the end of last year.

In the first set, the Russian player opened the tie-break with 3:0 and kept that advantage. In the second set, Marin missed three break opportunities at 1:1, and Khachanov used his second break point and went to 3:1, which was enough for him to win. Čilić had a first-serve percentage of 54% (Khachanov 71%), had eight aces and three double faults. He will also play in the Adelaide tournament next week, followed by the Australian Open.

Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo advanced to the final of the same tournament after beating Ariel Behar of Uruguay and Gonzalo Escobar of Ecuador 6:3, 6:7 (6), 10:2.

This is Dodig's 37th doubles final of his career. He played with Melo from 2013 to 2016 and had a lot of success. Among other things, they won Roland Garros in 2015 and were Wimbledon finalists in 2013. They are after their seventh joint title in Adelaide (the first since 2016). Recall, Dodig also won the Australian Open last year with partner Filip Polášek. 

In the final, their opponents will be Rohan Bopanna and Ramkumar Ramanathan. The Indian duo beat Tomislav Brkić (BiH) and Santiago Gonzalez (Mexico) with 6:2, 6:4.

Source: HRT

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January 7, 2022 - A great start to the year for Marin Čilić who reached the Adelaide International semifinals on Friday!

Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić advanced to the semifinals of the ATP tournament in Adelaide after defeating Serbian Laszlo Đere (ATP-52) 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinal match, reports HRT.

Čilić had a break advantage in the sixth game of the first set and took a 4-2 lead, and then confirmed the break on his serve. With a 5-2 lead on the opponent's serve, he had three set points, but failed to realize them. He ultimately won the first set on his serve. 

In the second set, Čilić was even better with two break points, one in the third and one in the fifth game, and used both and came to victory after 68 minutes of play.

It was the second duel between Čilić and Đere and Marin celebrated in both. In the semifinals, Čilić will play against the winner of the match between Belarusian Egor Gerasimov and Russian Karen Khachanov.

HRT adds that Croatian tennis player Ana Konjuh lost in the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament Melbourne Summer Set 1 to Qinwen Zheng (WTA - 126) with a score of 6-7 (1), 6-7 (6).

Ana Konjuh was the first to encounter problems with her serve, and in the third game, she managed to save one break point. However, Qinwen Zheng did not miss her second chance in the fifth game. Konjuh won back the serve in the next game, and saved another break point at 4-4, forcing the set to a tie-break, which Zheng convincingly won 7-1.

In the second set, only Konjuh had a chance to break. At 2-2, she missed two chances to take the serve and the set ended again in a tie-break in which the Croatian took a 5-1 lead. It seemed that the match could go to the third set, then Qinwen Zheng won seven of the next eight points and after 2 hours and 8 minutes of play advanced to the semifinals.

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December 3, 2021 - Croatia advanced to the Davis Cup final after topping Serbia in the doubles match in Madrid on Friday! 

After Borna Gojo took the lead against Serbia in the Davis Cup semifinals, the world's first tennis player Novak Djokovic defeated Marin Cilic 6:4, 6:2 and tied the score at 1:1, leaving the doubles match to decide the Davis Cup final team. 

Several dozen Croatian fans arrived in Madrid on Friday from various parts of Europe, including Sweden and Ireland.

In the first duel of the day, Borna Gojo defeated Dušan Lajović. 

"I had control of the match in the first set, but then I stumbled to 4:2, but the coach and the fans managed to bring me back and lift me to play better in the second and third sets," said 23-year-old Gojo immediately after the match.

"The Davis Cup is a special competition, the pressure is higher than usual, I played well here, but the most important thing is that I brought a point to the team," he concluded.

In the second singles match, Novak Djoković was better than Marin Čilić.

In the first set, Djokovic reached a break in the ninth game in which Čilić was 40-0. When he served to win the first set, the world's best tennis player saved four break points at 15-40 and gained an even better psychological advantage.

Djokovic won four games with two breaks in the second set and created an unattainable advantage. He reached a 6:4, 6:2 victory after one hour and 39 minutes of play. 

Čilić was judged by the poor realization of break points (0/8), while Djokovic used three of the eight break chances. 

It was the 20th match between Čilić and Djokovic in which Djokovic reached his 18th victory.

The national team that would secure their spot in the Davis Cup final was then left to the doubles, in which Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic met Novak Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic.

The first doubles team in the world beat Novak Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic 7:5, 6:1, bringing Croatia the Davis Cup final! 

Croatia will play against the winner of Germany and Russia. The final is scheduled for Sunday, December 5, 2021. 

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December 2, 2021 - The Croatian men's tennis team will play against Serbia in the Davis Cup semifinals in Madrid on Friday. Serbia defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, although they lost the first match.

The first point for Kazakhstan was secured by Mikhail Kukushkin, who after three hours and 18 minutes of play defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 7:6 (5), 4:6, 7:6 (11).

Kukushkin was in a good position when he won the first set and led 4:2 in the second, but Kecmanovic's series of seven games followed, which gave him a 3-0 advantage in the decisive third set. The Serbian tennis player had two consecutive match points at 5:3, but Kukushkin managed to break and took the game to a tie-break in the third set.

In that decisive game, Kecmanovic was the first to reach the advantage, had two more match points, one at 6:5, the other at 7:6, but even then he did not finish the match. Kukushkin reached his first match point with two consecutive points at 8:7, but the Kazakh also missed four. However, he managed to get the 5th match point in his 12:11 lead on Kecmanovic's serve.

In the second singles match, world #1 Novak Djokovic defeated Aleksandar Bublik 6:3, 6:4, bringing Serbia equal. An hour and 16 minutes of play were enough for Djokovic to win against Bublik, more than two hours less than it took Mikhail Kukushkin to bring Kazakhstan to the lead with a victory against Miomir Kecmanovic.

The winner was then decided by the doubles match, in which Djokovic and Nikola Cacic defeated Andrej Golubjev and Aleksandar Nedovjecov 6:2, 2:6, 6:3 after an hour and 37 minutes of play, bringing Serbia the semifinal match against Croatia, which is scheduled for Friday.

Recall, Croatia defeated Italy 2-1 in the quarterfinals in Turin on Monday.

Germany also reached the semifinals with a 2-1 victory against Great Britain on Tuesday, and Russia and Sweden will play in the last quarterfinal match on Thursday. The semi-final match between Germany and the better of the Russia-Sweden match will be played on Saturday.

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