May 26, 2019 - It was an excellent weekend for Croatian tennis, which saw Croatian tennis players celebrate at tournaments around Europe. Namely, Croatian tennis player Ivan Dodig and French tennis partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin won the doubles title at the ATP 250 series tournament in Lyon, where as the second-seed, they defeated the third-seeded British brothers Ken and Neal Skupski 6-4, 6-3 in the Saturday final after 70 minutes of play, reports 24 Sata. 

This is Dodig and Roger-Vasselin’s second title won as a duo at ATP tournaments. The first time the pair celebrated together was at the tournament in Montpellier.

For Dodig, this is his 13th title in doubles competitions, while he’s been defeated in the final 14 times. This is Roger-Vasselin’s 18th title in his 29th final and the tenth on his home court. 

Mate Pavić rounded off a successful day of Croatian tennis after Ivan Dodig in Lyon. Namely, the Split native and his doubles partner Austrian Oliver Marach justified their status as the first-seeded team of the tournament and celebrated at the ATP 250 Series tournament in Geneva.

Pavić and Marach defeated Australian Matthews Ebden and Swede Robert Lindstedt in two sets - 6:4, 6:4. During the match, they came to three breaks, and they lost their first strike only once in the final at the very beginning of the match (the second game) - after that, they did not face a break until the end of the match. This is Pavić’s 14th ATP title in his doubles career couples (and the sixth won with Marach), and the first in 2019.

Pavić and Marach also made history in Geneva, becoming the first team to win back-to-back Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open doubles titles on Saturday. 

"We love to come back here in Geneva. Two years in a row, winning, feels great and I hope we can come back next year,” said Pavić. Pavić and Marach gain 250 ATP Doubles Ranking points and split €29,650 in prize money.

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

May 16, 2019 - Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić placed into the 3rd round of the ATP tournament in Rome after mastering British player Cameron Norrie on Tuesday with a score of 6-2, 6-2 in just 58 minutes of play, reports the Croatian Tennis Federation.

It was a match where Ćorić was ferocious against his opponent, who really didn't stand a chance. Norrie did not manage a chance to break even once, and Ćorić realized his break on all occasions. Looking at the duo head-to-head, Norrie and Ćorić each have one victory. Recall, Norrie celebrated in Shenzhen. 

In the next round, Ćorić will play Roger Federer who was better than Portuguese player Joao Sousa. The two will meet on Thursday.

Mate Pavić and doubles partner Oliver Marach will also play in the round of 16 after defeating Jan-Lennard Struff and Ben McLachlan 6-3, 6-3. Pavić and Marach won three breaks in the duel,  while Struff and McLachlan had none. In the round of 16 game on Thursday, Pavić and Marach will face Fernando Verdasco and Denis Shapovalov.

Croatian tennis player Marin Čilić failed to qualify for the third round of the Italian Open, after German tennis player Jan-Lennard Struff was better than Ćilić with a score of  6-2, 6-3 in just an hour and seven minutes of play. 

Čilić struggled in the match against Struff, losing his first strike four times and totaling only four service games won, of which not one was when Struff had the first serve. The only break for Čilić was when Struff served for the win, but he only delayed his fate until the next game.

Čilić achieved only 45 percent on his second serve and only 62 percent on his first. 

This was the fourth match between Čilić and Struff and the second win for the German player. The two also meet last week in Madrid in 2nd round where Čilić won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

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

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

Croatian tennis player Ivan Dodig and his French partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin have made it to the semis of the Masters 1000 series tournament in Miami, the Miami Open, after defeating Argentinians Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the quarterfinals, reports Gol.hr on March 27, 2019.

The critical moment of the first set was the sixth game in which Dodig and Roger-Vasselin had a break and led 4-2. They held their advantage for 37 minutes and won the first set 6-3.

In the second set, both pairs held their services to 4-4 when the Croatian-French duo had a break. In the next game, they had two match points but did not use them, and the Argentinian duo leveled at 5-5. The set was taken to the thirteen game when the Argentinians led 4-2 and then 5-3. Dodig and Roger-Vasselin came back with three points in a row and reached 6-5. Gonzalez and Zeballos equalized at 6-6, and Dodig and Roger-Vasselin received the next two points to win.

In the semi-finals, Dodig and Roger-Vasselin will play against Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Unlike Dodig, Mate Pavić remained without a place in the semifinals. The best men's tennis duo of last year, Pavić and Austrian Oliver Marach, were defeated in the quarterfinals by Polish player Lukasz Kubot and Brazilian Marcelo Melo 6-7 (5), 5-7.

Pavić and Marach were excellent to start the match, and already in the first game took the service of their opponents and led 2-0. However, Kubot and Melo returned in the fourth game, equalizing to 2-2. By the end of the set, both pairs kept their serves, leaving it to the decisive thirteenth game.

The Croatian-Austrian pair misplayed their tie-break. Their rivals led 3-1 and 6-2. Pavić and Marach then saved three set points, but not the fourth.

At the opening of the second set, we saw breaks, but this time by Kubot and Melo. Pavić and Marach managed to equalize 2-2. Unfortunately, Kubot and Melo broke at 5-5 and efficiently served for the match.

Borna Ćorić also failed to win a spot in the semifinals after losing to the 18-year-old Canadian player Felix Auger Aliassime 7-6 (3), 6-2. 

Ćorić did well only in the first set, and at one point had a break point to lead 6-5. He did not use it, and in the tie-break, which proved to be key, he lost two points at his service and was left without the set. 

Auger Aliassime opened the second set with two breaks, and the story was over. The young Canadian player has thus reached the semifinals from qualifying and awaits John Isner today.

Darija Jurak and partner Raluca Olaru fell to Ashleigh Barty and Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 in the women's doubles quarters. 

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

Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić advanced to the third round of a strong Masters 1000 series tournament in Miami, the Miami Open. Ćorić celebrated against Jérémy Chardy (ATP-40)  6:7 (2), 6:2, 6:3 after two hours and 38 minutes of play, report Gol.hr on March 25, 2019. 

After losing the first set in the tiebreak after more than an hour of play, Ćorić took control of the game in the second set, which he won easily with 6:2. Although Chardy served five aces, and Ćorić only one, the Croatian took the Frenchman’s service twice and did not lose his own once. 

In the third set, the situation was similar, but Ćorić was better at serving and managed five aces. In addition, Ćorić retook the service of his rival and didn’t lose his once in the set.

In the match, Ćorić served 12 aces, as did Chardy, though he was better at both the first and the second serve (76 percent and 57 percent to 69 and 48 percent). The French tennis player lost his serve to Ćorić four times while Ćorić lost his only once.

This was the fifth game between Ćorić and Chardy and the third win of the Croatian tennis player who will meet Australian Nick Kyrgios, 33rd on the ATP ranking, in the round of 16 on Tuesday. Ćorić has played against Kyrgios three times and has celebrated only once.

Last year's best men’s doubles team, Croatian Mate Pavić and Austrian Oliver Marach, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Miami Open with a convincing 6:1, 6:1 win against Moldovan Radu Albot and Georgian Nikoloz Basilasvili. The next rivals for Pavić and Marach will be Polish player Lukasz Kubot and Brazilian Marcelo Melo.

Earlier on Monday, Ivan Dodig and doubles partner Eduard Roger-Vasselin defeated Dutchman Matweed Middelkoop and Argentine Diego Schwartzman at 6:4, 6:3 in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, Dodig and Roger-Vasselin will play against the Argentine Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos.

Darija Jurak will also play in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open in the women’s doubles with partner Raluca Olaru. The two will play on Wednesday against Ashleigh Barty and Victoria Azarenka. 

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

In the competition for the best athlete of Dalmatia by Slobodna Dalmacija, Split tennis player Mate Pavić was declared the winner. Behind him was a memorable season, where he was excellent with his partner Oliver Marach to win the Australian Open, ended the year as the best doubles team, and finished at the top of the ATP doubles ranking, reports Slobodna Dalmacija on February 5, 2019. 

Pavić’s fantastic year was then crowned with the success of the Croatia national team, who won the Davis Cup against France. All this was more than enough for Mate to find himself on the list of top athletes in Dalmatia, which is why the trophy for the best athlete, which was presented at the Old City Hall on Split's Pjaca, ended in the right hands.

“Of course I’m glad and honored to win this award, and be in the company of top athletes from other sports. Dalmatia is known as a region of top athletes, so to be a part of it is really a great honor,” Mate said. 

2018 was an exceptional year for Mate. 

“Definitely, behind me is the best season I've had so far. It is difficult to repeat, I hope to succeed, but to be number one in doubles and as the team at the end of the year, we won the Grand Slam, the Davis Cup at the end of the year ... It will be hard to repeat it all, but I will try.”

Croatia celebrated when the team won the Davis Cup in Lille and brought home the trophy. What were Mate’s impressions on the great end to the year?

"The impressions were beautiful. I took a few years off competitions, and now I had the opportunity to become part of something big. I played in Zadar in front of a local audience, then away in France... To be a part of the individual sports team, to be with my colleagues is something special and the final in Lille will always stay in my memory.”

The new season did not begin as well for Pavić and Marach, who dropped out of the Australian Open in the second round.

“In Australia, we played a bit worse in two or three matches. Not nearly as good as last year when we returned from the southern hemisphere with three titles, but overall it was not that bad. My Davis Cup season was very long; maybe I needed a bit more time to rest between the two seasons, which I did not have. We are now moving on to new tournaments, we can play well and there is no reason we shouldn’t continue winning titles.”

Last year Pavić won in the mixed doubles competition of the Australian Open with Canadian player Gabriela Dabrowski, though this year the pair were also unlucky in the same tournament. Will they still play together?

“I’ve already played with Dabrowski for a year now, and this is our fifth tournament, so there is no reason we shouldn’t play all the Grand Slams together.”

What awaits Pavić now?

“Nenad Zimonjić asked me to play a tournament in Sofia, and then I’ll return to Marach and go to Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells.”

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

January 22, 2019 - Croatia’s last remaining representative in the Australian Open, Mate Pavić, is in the mixed doubles quarter-final. 

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

January 17, 2019 - It was another mostly successful day for Croatians in the Australian Open, as Borna Ćorić and Mate Pavić join Marin Čilić and Petra Martić in the round of 32. 

After the second day of the Davis Cup finals in Lille, Croatia leads France 2:1.