July 13, 2019 - Croatian tennis player Ivan Dodig and Taiwanese partner Latisha Chan are in the mixed doubles final of Wimbledon! The two-time Roland Garros winners achieved another Grand Slam final after defeating Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and his Czech partner Kveta Peschke 7:5, 6:4 on Friday, reports the Croatian Tennis Federation.

The critical moment of the first set was in the eleventh game where Dodig and Chan realized their second break point to lead 6:5, then won the game by 7:5 and secured the first set. 

The second set saw several rallies, though it was Dodig and Chan to break their opponent first, which came in the third game. However, in the next game, the Dutch and Czech duo managed to equalize at 2:2. In the seventh game, Dodig and Chan broke their opponent again, and this time defended their advantage until the end.After 42 minutes of play,  they won the second set with a score of 6: 4 and thus a spot in the Wimbledon final! 

The Grand slam winners will play in the final against Swede Robert Lindstedt and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko who defeated Dutchman Matwe Middelkoop and Chinese partner Zhaoxuan Yang with a score of 7:5, 6:2 in the semi-final. Recall, Lindstedt and Ostapenko beat Franko Škugor and Romanian partner Raluca Olaru 6:7 (6), 6:3, 7:5 in the quarter-final.

Thus, Ivan Dodig will play in his seventh final at Grand Slam tournaments. So far, he has three titles, and all three at the tennis courts of Roland Garros (men’s doubles in 2015, mixed doubles in 2018 and 2019). This is his second final at Wimbledon after he lost in 2013 with Brazilian partner Marcelo Melo against Rajeev Ram and Raven Klaasen. 

The Wimbledon final will be played on Sunday at 5 pm Croatian time.

Recall, Ivan Dodig is Croatia's last remaining representative at Wimbledon this year. 

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Ivan Dodig will play in the men's doubles semi-final for the second time in his career after he played in the 2013 final with Brazilian partner Marcelo Melo. 

The Croatian Tennis Federation reports that Ivan Dodig and partner Filip Polašek are in the men's doubles semi-final of Wimbledon! The Croatian-Slovakian duo once again showed their strength and overcame the New Zealand-Dutch duo Marcus Daniell and Wesley Koolhof in the quarter-final in three sets - 6:2, 7:6 (1), 6:3. 

Dodig and Polašek allowed only one break point (in the 10th game of the second set) when Daniell and Koolhof equalized at 5:5 to lose that set in a tie break. In the decisive set, they broke their opponents in the 6th game and calmly concluded the match. 

This is Dodig’s second time advancing to the Wimbledon semi-final in the men's doubles competition. Recall, in 2013, he played in the final (when his partner was Brazilian Marcelo Melo). For a new chance at the Wimbledon final, Dodig and Polašek will play against Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. 

Croatian representatives continue to succeed in the mixed doubles competition as well. Franko Škugor and Romanian partner Raluca Olaru will play in the quarterfinal of the tournament after defeating the sixth seed Nikola Mektić and Alicja Rosolska with a score of 6:2, 6:2. Škugor and Olaru will play against the winner of Peers/Zhang and Lindstedt/Ostapenko.

Mate Pavić and Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski (3rd seed) continued their second-round mixed doubles game on Tuesday after it was suspended on Monday due to darkness. Pavić and Dabrowski managed to beat Jamie Murray and American Bethanie Mattek Sands - 6:4, 3:6, 6:3. Their opponents in the round of 16 will be New Zealander Artem Sitak and German Laura Siegemund.

Dodig will also play in the mixed doubles round of 16 with partner Latisha Chan against Roger-Vasselin and Andreja Klepač.

Recall, Croatia no longer has any representatives in the singles competition after Petra Martić, Marin Čilić, Donna Vekić and Ivo Karlović were eliminated.

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