July 24, 2021 - Croatia tennis at Olympic Games -  a good start as Croatian doubles team Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić move to the 2nd round, as does Croatia's only male representative in the singles tournament - Marin Čilić!

Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić have overcome their first obstacle in the Olympic tournament. In the first round, they played against Marcelo Demoliner and Marcelo Melo and celebrated 7:6, 6:4. 

Brazilians Marcelo Demoliner and Marcelo Melo offered strong resistance to Nikola Mektić and Mato Pavić, but the Croatian pair was still better and took the deserved victory.

Mektić and Pavić are the favorites for gold, but surprises are not uncommon at the Olympic Games. 

The Croatian team was on the verge of losing the first set in which the Brazilians led 5:0, but by the end of the tie-break, Mektić and Pavić made it 8:1 and took the 13th game with 8:6.

In the second set, there were no breaks until the very end, when Mektić and Pavić reached 5:40 at 5:4. They had their second match point and advanced to the second round.

In the second round, they will play against the winners of Spain's Andujar / Carballes Baena and Italy's Musetti / Sonego.

Marin Čilić, the only male Croatian tennis player in the singles competition of the Olympics, advanced to the 2nd round with a big turnaround, defeating Brazilian Joao Menezes (ATP - 217th) 6:7 (5), 7:5, 7:6 (7) after three hours and 23 minutes of play.

Čilić finished the match with 12 aces, 12 double faults, and a first-serve percentage of only 54%. He made 49 unforced errors compared to Menezes' 27 and realized only five of the 17 break points he had.

Čilić's opponent in the 2nd round will be Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta (ATP - 11th) who defeated American Tennys Sandgren 7:5, 6:2. Čilić is 4-0 against the Spaniard in mutual matches.

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July 3, 2021 - Mate Pavić and Nikola Mektić have not let their absence from Roland Garros be known as they move their way into the third round of the Wimbledon doubles tournament!

Croatian tennis players Nikola Mektić, Mate Pavić, and Ivan Dodig were successful in their men's doubles matches at Wimbledon played on Friday.

Mektić and Pavić, who are the first seed of the tournament, convincingly defeated Australians Alex De Minaur and Matt Reid 6-2, 6-4, while Australian Open winners Dodig and Slovak Filip Polašek beat Slovak Norbert Gombos and Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-1 in the first round.

In the third round, Mektić and Pavić will play against the winner of the match between the Bosnian and Serbian duo Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic and New Zealander Marcus Daniello and Austrian Philipp Oswald.

The fifth seed Dodig and Polašek will play Spaniard Jaume Munar and Briton Cameron Norrie in the second round.

The top-ranked Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić (ATP - 37) advanced to the third round of Wimbledon after defeating French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi (ATP - 119) on Thursday 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5 ) after three hours and three minutes of play.

In the third round, Čilić will play against the second-best tennis player in the world, Russian Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

It will be their second duel, though the first was played two years ago in Washington when the Russian tennis player celebrated in two sets (6-4, 7-6).

By entering the third round, Marin achieved his best result at Wimbledon since 2017, when he came one step closer to the title, losing in the final to Roger Federer in three sets.

Recall, Donna Vekić lost in the second round to Karolina Pliskova, while Petra Martić lost in the second round to Irina-Camelia Begu. Martić and American doubles partner Shelby Rogers are in the second round of the doubles competition. 

Source: HRT

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July 2, 2021 - It will be Marin Čilić against Daniil Medvedev, the 2nd-best tennis player in the world, in the third round of Wimbledon to be played on Saturday. 

The top-ranked Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić (ATP - 37) advanced to the third round of Wimbledon after defeating French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi (ATP - 119) on Thursday 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5 ) after three hours and three minutes of play.

In the third round, Čilić will play against the second-best tennis player in the world, Russian Daniil Medvedev, who defeated Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, 6-1, 6-2.

It will be their second duel, though the first was played two years ago in Washington when the Russian tennis player celebrated in two sets (6-4, 7-6).

By entering the third round, Marin achieved his best result at Wimbledon since 2017, when he came one step closer to the title, losing in the final to Roger Federer in three sets.

Čilić was a better opponent against Bonzi, leaving the Frenchman without a chance to break in three of the four sets. His only issue was serving in the second set when he allowed Bonzi to reach two consecutive breaks in the fourth and sixth games, but it did not last long.

The key to winning the first set was a break in the ninth game, after which he used the first set point. After losing the second set, Čilić recovered very quickly and, with one break, took the lead with 3-0 at the beginning of the third set. That was a sufficient advantage, as Bonzi did not get much of a chance. In the fourth set, Čilić missed two opportunities to break in the third game.

The decision to end or continue the match fell in a tie-break in which Čilić took a 5-1 lead, and Bonzi came close to 5-4 with three consecutive points. Čilić won the next point on the serve and reached two match points. He missed the first but turned the second into a win.

It was Čilić's 31st win at the All England Club, and for the eighth time in his career, he reached at least the third round at Wimbledon. He will now face Daniil Medvedev, who equaled his best Wimbledon result achieved in the last two editions of the third Grand Slam tournament of the season by entering the third round.

Source: HRT

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June 25, 2021 - Croatian tennis players have found out their Wimbledon opponents! The tournament will be held from June 28 to July 11, 2021. 

The only Croatian representative in the men's competition at this year's Wimbledon, Marin Čilić, will face Salvatore Caruso in the 1st round, while both Croatian representatives in the women's competition will compete against 20-year-old Russians - Donna Vekić v. Anastasia Potapova and Petra Martić v. Varvara Gracheva, was determined by a draw on Friday, reports Gol.hr.

Čilić, the 2017 Wimbledon finalist, was appointed the 32nd-seed of the tournament after Austrian Dominic Thiem pulled out on Thursday, so he was faced with slightly easier rivals at the beginning of the tournament.

In the 1st round, he will play against the current 97th player in the world, Caruso, who lost in the first round in his only appearance so far at Wimbledon two years ago. If he wins against Caruso, Čilić will play in the 2nd round against the better of the two qualifiers, Argentine Marco Trungelliti and Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, but in the 3rd round, he could face the second-best player in the world, Russian Danilo Medvedev.

Donna Vekić also received a not-too-demanding rival in the first round, 20-year-old Russian Potapova, the 82nd player in the world, who has played twice at Wimbledon so far and achieved only one victory.

However, in the 2nd round, the 25-year-old from Osijek will have a much more demanding task because she could play against the eighth seed, Czech player Karolina Pliškova or the Slovenian Tamara Zidanšek, who recently reached the semifinals of Roland Garros.

Petra Martić, who is set to be the 26th seed, will play against Gracheva, who currently holds 82nd place in the WTA rankings. This will also be her Wimbledon debut. If she wins against Gracheva, Martić will play in the 2nd round against the Romanian Irina Begu or the qualifier.

Vekić and Martić could be joined in the first round by Ana Konjuh if she defeats the Bulgarian Cvetana Pironkova in the last round of qualifications.

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April 2, 2021 - Second-seeds Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić will play in the Miami Open doubles final on Friday for their fifth ATP Tour final of the year!

Croatian doubles team Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić advanced to the doubles finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami, defeating American Rajeev Ram and Briton Joe Salisbury 6-3, 7-6 (3).

Mektić and Pavić solved the first set after a break in the fourth game and the second after a tie-break in which they made it 5:3.

Croatian tennis players Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić will play in the Miami Open doubles final against British duo Daniel Evans and Neal Skupski. Evans and Skupski defeated Croatian Ivan Dodig and Slovak Filip Polašek 7-6 (4), 1-6, 10-8 in a dramatic duel, which was decided by one point in the end.

Dodig and Polašek did not lose their service during the match, but the defeat cost them worse than the start of the decisive set - Evans and Skupski took an early lead with 5:1, and the Croatian-Slovak duo did not manage to return.

Mektić and Mate Pavić have 24 victories and only three defeats this season, and they have won three tournaments so far (Antalya, Melbourne, Rotterdam).

After three victories, Marin Čilić finished his performance at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Miami earlier this week.

In the round of 16, the 8th-best tennis player in the world, Russian Andrej Rublev, was too strong for Čilić (6:4, 6: 4). Marin lost his serve once in each set (both times in the fifth game) and did not reach a single break during the match. He recorded six aces and a first-serve percentage of 54 percent.

It was their fifth meeting and Rublev's fourth consecutive victory. Čilić's next appearance will be at the Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo, which starts on April 11.

Source: HTS

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March 30, 2021 - It will be Marin Čilić against Andrey Rublev in the Miami Open round of 16, while Croatian doubles team Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić have reached the quarters! 

Marin Čilić advanced to the round of 16 at the ATP Masters tournament in Miami with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Italian Lorenzo Musetti. It took Marin only 76 minutes of play.

Čilićwas dominant against 19-year-old Musetti, who is 94th in the ATP rankings and the youngest player in the company of the ATP's top 100.

Marin won the first set thanks to a tiebreak at 3-2 and went ahead in the second set after 4-4. The Medjugorje native was in a good mood for the game, recording 9 aces and a first-serve percentage of only 51 percent, while he saved both of his opponent's breaks. 

This was the first duel between Čilić and Musetti. 

In the round of 16, Čilić will play against the 8th-best tennis player in the world, Russian Andrei Rublev, who defeated Hungarian Martin Fuscovisco in the round of 32. 

Čilić never recorded particularly good results in Miami and went the furthest in 2013 - to the quarterfinals.

This was Čilić's fifth win in 2021, and for the first time, he has linked three Tour victories since the Australian Open last year. 

Direktno.hr reports that the most successful doubles team in 2021, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić advanced to the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 series tournament in Miami, where they defeated Americans Taylor Fritz and John Isner 6:4, 6:4 in the round of 16 duel. 

This is the seventh tournament for Mektić and Pavić this season, and they have reached at least the quarterfinals for the seventh time. In 25 matches played, they achieved 22 victories, suffered only three defeats, and won three titles (Antalya, Melbourne, Rotterdam), with one lost final (Dubai) to Colombians Cabal and Farah.

Ivan Dodig and Slovak Filip Polašek defeated them in the semifinals of the Australian Open, and the French team Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin defeated them in the quarterfinals of the Doha tournament, which is the only loss for the Croatian Davis Cup team in the quarterfinals of 2021.

To advance to the semifinals, Mektić and Pavić will have to beat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and Pakistani Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Ivan Dodig and Filip Polašek will fight for the semifinals against Austrian Oliver Marach and Australian Luke Saville.

Source: HTS

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February 9, 2021 - Marin Čilić and Petra Martić have been eliminated from the Australian Open after the first round, while Borna Ćorić and Donna Vekić have advanced to the second. 

Marin Čilić was quickly eliminated in the first Grand Slam tournament of the season. The finalist of the 2018 Australian Open ended his performance in the first round this year, and was convincingly defeated in three sets by the 18th seed, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov - 6:4, 6:2, 7:6 (5).

Marin had only four breaks during the match and used only one in the eighth game of the third set. At 5:3, he even served to win the set, but Dimitrov did not allow him to get back into the game. Marin had four aces (Dimitrov 19) during the match and recorded a first-serve percentage of 58 percent.

Fortunately, there was a good start for Borna Ćorić at this year's Australian Open. The 24-year-old from Zagreb (22nd-seed) knocked out Argentine Guido Pella (ATP-44) in the first round without losing a set - 6:3, 7:6 (5), 7:5. Borna had the most problems in the second set in which Pella had a 2-0 lead, and in the tie-break of the same set, he was only two points away from making the match even (5:3). However, Borna remained strong enough and, in the end, managed to win 3:0.

He recorded 23 aces with a high first-serve percentage of 70 percent during the match and used four of the 11 breakpoints in the match. It was their second meeting and the first victory for Ćorić, whose next opponent will be American Mackenzie McDonald, the world's 192nd best tennis player.

It took Donna Vekić two hours and 40 minutes to pass the 1st round of the Australian Open; after a great fight and three sets, the Osijek native managed to find a winning combination against Chinese rival Yafan Wang (WTA-98) - 4:6, 6:3, 6:4.

Donna started the match well, led 3:2, but then lost her serve twice and fell behind in sets. Wang took the lead in the second set with 2:0, and it seemed that she was surely stepping towards victory, but Donna turned around and took the second set.

In the decisive set, which was played for more than an hour, Wang had a 3:2 advantage, but Donna ultimately won with a final break in the 10th game.

In the second round, she will face last year's Roland Garros semi-finalist, Argentine Nadia Podoroska, currently the 45th best tennis player globally.

Petra Martić finished her time at the Australian Open and was surprised by the Serbian qualifier Olga Danilović (WTA-183) - 7:5, 3:6, 6:4. Petra lost the first set, but by winning the second, she was back in the match. She even led 3:1 in the decisive set but managed to win only one game until the end of match.

Danilović took a 4:3 lead, Martić equalized at 4:4, but no longer had the strength for the victory.  

Source: HTS

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February 5, 2021 - Croatian tennis players are ready for this year's Australian Open, which begins on Monday, February 8, in Melbourne. 

Gol.hr reports that the draw for the Australian Open, which begins on February 8, took place in Melbourne Park. Croatia will have four representatives in the singles competition at the first Grand Slam tennis tournament of the season. Borna Ćorić and Marin Čilić in the men's competition, and Petra Martić and Donna Vekić in the women's competition.

Borna Ćorić, who is the 22nd seed, will play in the first round against Argentine Guido Pella, while Marin Čilić will face a tough opponent, 18th seed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov. Serbian Olga Danilović will meet Petra Martić in the first round, while Donna Vekić will play against Chinese player Yafan Wang.

Ćorić played once against the 44th tennis player in the world and lost. It was 2017 in Chengdu, China.

Borna has dropped out five times in the first round in his six appearances at the Australian Open so far, and in 2019 he reached the fourth round.

Čilić and Dimitrov have played six times so far, and the Croatian tennis player leads 4-2 in victories. The last time they played was in 2019 at Roland Garros, and Dimitrov celebrated. They have already played in Australia once, but in Brisbane in 2014, where Čilić was better.

It will be Marin's 13th appearance at the Australian Open. He went the furthest in 2018 when he lost in the final to Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer in five sets.

Serbian Olga Danilović will play Petra Martić in the first round. Martić and the 20-year-old Serbian tennis player have not met so far. Martić has played in Melbourne nine times so far, and she achieved the best result in 2018, reaching the fourth round.

Donna Vekić and Yafan Wang had played once, in 2019 in Acapulco, when Wang won. Wang is currently the 96th best tennis player in the world.

The first-seed of the tournament, the eight-time winner of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, will play in the first round against the Frenchman Jeremy Chardy. Rafael Nadal, the second-seed, will start against Serbian Laslo Đere.

Last year's finalist, Austrian Dominic Thiem, is the third seed of the tournament and will face Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan.

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September 26, 2020 - The draw for this year's Roland Garros grand-slam tournament took place in Paris on Thursday, and the most difficult job so far will be for Marin Cilic, who will play the winner of the US Open and the third-best player in the world, Austrian Dominic Thiem. A look at the competition of Croatian tennis stars at Roland Garros. 

T.portal reports that Marin Cilic drew the strongest possible opponent at the beginning considering Thiem's quality and current form, but also the fact that Marin has lost all three previous matches against the Austrian tennis player.

Thiem also knocked out Cilic at this year's US Open 6-2, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, and Marin also lost to him at the Canadian Masters 2019 and Brisbane in 2016. The duel between Cilic and Thiem is convincingly the strongest pair in the first round, and in the 2nd round, the winner will play the winner of American Reilly Opelka and the qualifier.

In the first round, Borna Coric will play with the 106th-best player in the world, Slovak Norbert Gombos, who he has not played so far. If he passes, Coric will likely play against Frenchman Chardy.

In the women's competition, Petra Martic opens Roland Garros against Japanese Misaki Doi, the 80th-best tennis player in the world. Petra has played against the left-handed Japanese player only once so far and lost 6-3, 6-3 back in 2013 at the Australian Open. In the event she passes, Martic awaits the winner of the match between Russian Kudermet and French Parmentier.

Croatia's second representative Donna Vekic awaits Irina Bara in the 1st round, and if she wins, her next opponent will be the winner of Belgian van Utvyanck and Swedish Peterson.

Roland Garros is on the program from September 27 to October 11. Novak Djokovic and Simona Halep will try to defend their titles this year.

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September 6, 2020 - Marin Cilic and Donna Vekic failed to join Borna Coric and Petra Martic in the last 16 of the US Open. 

Donna Vekic has said farewell to this year's US Open. The 24-year-old Osijek native lost her 3rd round match to 32-year-old Cvetana Pironkova, who plays with a protected ranking in New York (due to childbirth). Pironkova celebrated 6:4, 6:1 in her first tournament since Wimbledon 2017.

Donna started the match solidly, kept the score even at 4:4, and then took only one more game until the end of the match, the first in the second set. Vekic only used one break point out of four in the match. In the second set, she managed to get only four points on her opponent's serve. It was their fourth meeting and the fourth victory of the Bulgarian tennis player.

The third-best tennis player in the world, Austrian Dominic Thiem, proved to be too strong for Marin Cilic in the 3rd round clash of this year's US Open. The tournament's former winner (2014) lost after four sets - 6:2, 6:2, 3:6, 6:3.

The Austrian won the first two sets in just 65 minutes of play, and Cilic did not reach a single break point in that period.

Cilic woke up in the third set, and in the sixth game, he stole his opponent's serve for the first time and reduced the score to 1:2 in the sets. Who knows how the match would have unfolded if Marin had used one of three break opportunities to lead to 3:2 in the fourth set. Thiem managed to save them at 15:40 and immediately stole Marin's serve in the next game. This was their third meeting and the third victory for Thiem.

Mate Pavic joined Nikola Mektic in the doubles quarterfinals of the US Open. Pavic and Brazilian Bruno Soares celebrated in the second round against the American duo Jack Sock and Jackson Withrow - 5:7, 7:6 (5), 6:4. The Croatian-Brazilian team was on the verge of defeat, Sock and Withrow served for the victory in the second set with a 5:4 lead, but Pavic and Soares equalized through a tie-break. They had a chance to break in the seventh game of the deciding set, which was enough to pass among the eight best doubles teams in New York.

In the fight for the semifinals, Pavic and Soares will play British team Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski.

Source: HTS

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