Marin Čilić has made it to the quarterfinal of the Madrid Open!

Croatian tennis players Petra Martić and Donna Vekić advanced to the 3rd round of the WTA tournament in Madrid after eliminating Angelique Kerber and Kristýna Plíšková, reports Gol.hr on May 6, 2019. 

Petra Martić made it to the 3rd round of the Madrid Open without a fight. After knocking out double Grand Slam winner Garbine Muguruz in the first round, Martić was meant to play against Angelique Kerber, the fourth best tennis player in the world, who was forced to retire due to an ankle injury.

Donna Vekić defeated Czech qualifier Kristýna Plíšková. (WTA-94) with a score of 6-4, 6-4 after an hour and 26 minutes of play. After Vekić broke at 4-2, Plíšková managed to get back for 4-4. However, the Croatian tennis player took her opponents serve and the first set. 

In the second set again, Vekić was first to come to a break, but Plíšková still managed to return the lost service. At 3-3, Vekić once again took her opponent’s service and routinely ended the match with a victory. 

In the last 16, we will see Croatia's best female tennis players, Donna Vekić and Petra Martić meet on Wednesday afternoon. 

Marin Čilić will also play in the round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. Croatia’s best male tennis player secured two wins in a row (for the first time after the Australian Open) after defeating Slovakian Martin Kližan in the first round on Tuesday and German Jan-Lennard Struff (ATP-49) in the second round with 4:6, 6:3, 6:4. Marin’s next rival will be either Del Potro or Đere. Thanks to these results, Marin has also jumped one position on the ATP ranking and is again among the top 10 tennis players in the world.

Borna Ćorić was sent home early from Madrid after losing to Frenchman Lucas Pouille in the first round 6:3, 7:5.

Mate Pavić and doubles partner Oliver Marach defeated Croatian-French duo Ivan Dodig and  Edouard Roger-Vasselin after a big fight in three sets - 6:4, 3:6, 10:5. They will play in the quarter-final against Argentine duo Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos.

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

After almost three and a half hours of tennis, Borna Ćorić advanced to the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 series tournament in Monte Carlo.

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. 

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

Not the news you’d like to hear about Croatia’s best tennis player Marin Čilić. 

Marin Čilić has dropped out of the Australian Open in the round of 16. 

January 18, 2019 - Marin Čilić made an incredible comeback to beat Fernando Verdasco in the round of 32 of the Australian Open. 

Croatia’s best tennis player Marin Čilić advanced to the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday, though it was no walk in the park. 

Great results for Croats in the Australian open as Marin Čilić, Petra Martić, and Donna Vekić advance to the second round. 

ZAGREB, December 19, 2018 - Croatia's best tennis player, Marin Čilić, on Tuesday personally presented scholarships to eight young athletes and six young musicians whom Čilić's foundation selected as its first 14 scholarship recipients.

These cash stipends can be used by recipients for several specific purposes in their further development in sports and in their education as future musicians.

The Marin Čilić Foundation, also allocated two donations – one to a primary school in the town of Čabar and the other to a secondary school in Beli Manastir – for the procurement of IT equipment.

During the scholarship-giving ceremony, Čilić said that this was a special day for him.

The director of the foundation, Nevena Mrkonjić, said that initially it had been planned to select a total of 10 recipients for scholarships designated for gifted young people. However, the foundation received 142 requests and they eventually selected the fledgling eight athletes and six musicians to receive the first scholarships from this foundation.

The foundation says on its website that it "strongly believes that every child’s potential is infinite! With adequate support, hard work and strong belief, every child can reach his/her fullest potential. Our organization seeks to provide both the space and financial support to children and youth whose circumstances make realizing their dreams seem like a distant reality."

More news on Marin Čilić can be found in our Sports section.