November 18, 2019 - The Davis Cup debuted its new format on Monday in Madrid. Croatia kicked off their competition in Group B against Russia. 

The Croatia national tennis team lost the first duel on Monday, when Borna Gojo, a 21-year-old debutant for Croatia, was defeated by Andrey Rublev 3:6, 3:6 after an hour and eight minutes of play.

Borna Gojo (ATP-280), who only made his way into the world of professional tennis three months ago, had a poor start to the match against the favored Rublev, the 23rd best player in the world. He lost his service in the first game, but managed to collect himself and immediately return with a break. However, the remainder of the first set was a one-way street in which the Russian tennis player took Gojo’s serve two more times.

At the start of the second set, Gojo had two consecutive breaks but did not use them. Rublev then came to a break and routinely concluded the match in his favor.

Gojo played for American Wake Forest University and joined Croatia after Marin Cilic dropped out due to injury. Interim coach Franko Skugor opted for Gojo because he felt he could do better on a faster basis than Nino Serdarusic.

“I’m not satisfied, I had some chances, but I didn't serve well enough. My serve was not at the level as usual, and especially not at the level for this match. I also had occasions where I could be more aggressive, but I was nervous, so I played safely.  We will get the positive things out of this match and try to be as good as possible on Wednesday," Gojo said after his performance.

In the second match, Croatia’s best tennis player Borna Coric lost to Karen Khachanov 7:6(4), 4:6, 4:6.

Coric opened the match well, won the first set, but unfortunately lost his energy in the continuation of the match due to recent virus. Hachanov thus turned the result in his favor.

There was not too much excitement in the first set until it was 3:3 and both tennis players held their serves. Khachanov had three consecutive break points to lead 4:3. However, Borna managed to even it at 4:4. The set was then decided in the thirteenth game. Hachanov led 2:0 with a mini break, but Borna returned and had a tiebreak at 7:4.

In the second set, Khachanov managed to equalize, and the key was the seventh game in which Khachanov broke Coric for the 4:3 lead. In the next game, Borna had the opportunity to get back the game he lost, but failed.

Coric dwindled in the third set. In the fifth game, he saved four break points, but in the seventh game, he struggled and Khachanov came to a great advantage, which he defended until the end of the match.

It was their third encounter and the first win for the 17th best tennis player in the world. Coric won his first two matches in 2017 in Rotterdam and Milan.

“I played the first set great, I even surprised myself a little, the second set, in my opinion, I was better, I didn't break him at 3:3 and then everything went downhill. My strength fell and I could no longer get anything out. I’m sorry about the second set where; I thought I had the match in control, two, three points decided the match and he prevailed. I just didn't take my chances,” Coric said.

Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic played in the doubles match that followed against Khachanov and Rublev and lost 7:6 (3), 6:4. Thus, Croatia lost 0:3 to Russia on day one.

At this year's Davis Cup, eighteen teams are divided into six groups of three teams. The winners of the groups and the two best runner-up teams will advance to the quarterfinals. All matches are played in a format with two singles matches and one doubles match.

Croatia's group also includes Spain, led by the world number one tennis player Rafael Nadal.

Spain and Russia meet tomorrow, and in the last match in the group, the title defender Croatia will play against Spain on Wednesday.

Source: HRT

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September 20, 2019 - Not a bad day for Croatian tennis players after Borna Coric and doubles team Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor advance to the semifinal of the St. Petersburg Open in Russia.

HTS reports that Borna Coric is in the semifinal of the ATP tournament in St. Petersburg! Croatia’s best tennis player achieved another turnaround and celebrated in three sets, this time in action against Norwegian player Casper Ruud, 60th on the ATP ranking - 3:6, 7:5, 6:3.

Ruud was up by a set and had a 3-2 lead in the quarter-final, with the serve in the second set, but the Zagreb native once again managed to find a way to victory.

Coric took the second set after he broke his opponent in the 6th and 12th games. The sixth game of the third set was crucial for Coric when he took away Ruud’s serve for the third time in the match. Borna managed seven aces during the match and achieved a first-serve percentage of 60 percent. 

This success has moved Coric up one position on the ATP ranking, making him the current 14th best tennis player in the world. To reach the final, Coric will play against the winner of the match between Kukuskin - Sousa. 

Nikola Mektic and Franko Skugor, the first-seed in St. Petersburg this week, also won a spot in the semifinal on Thursday. In the first round, the Croatian duo was better than Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis and Serbian Janko Tipsarevic (6:3, 6:4), and topped American Nicholas Monroe and Belarusian Andrei Vasilevski (who didn’t have a single break point in the match) in the quarterfinal - 6:4, 6:2.

Mektic and Skugor will play Igor Zelenay and Divij Sharan in the semifinal on Saturday. 

Recall, Donna Vekic lost in the round of 16 at the Japan Women's Open on Thursday against Misaki Doi. 

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

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. 

July 9, 2019 - Ivan Dodig has made it to the men's doubles quarter-final of Wimbledon, while he also joins Nikola Mektić and Marko Škugor in the mixed doubles round of 16. Mate Pavić and partner Gabriela Dabrowski will finish their second-round mixed doubles game on Tuesday after it was suspended on Monday, announces the Croatian Tennis Federation.

Ivan Dodig and his Slovakian partner Filip Polašek have made it to the men’s doubles quarter-final of Wimbledon! 

In the third round, they overcame the 6th seed of the tournament and Croatian duo Nikola Mektić and Franko Škugor - 7:6 (5), 6:4, 7:6 (3). Their opponents for a spot in the semi-final will be New Zealander Marcus Daniell and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof.

However, not all hope is lost for Mektić and Škugor at this year’s Wimbledon. 

On Monday, Croatian tennis players recorded three wins in the mixed doubles portion of the tournament. Nikola Mektić and Polish partner Alicja Rosolska  (6th seed) defeated Indonesian Christopher Rungkata and Japanese player Shuko Aoyama (7:5, 6:4). In the round of 16,  they will play against Franko Škugor and Romanian Raluca Olaru (12th seed) who overcame. American duoFrances Tiafoe and Venus Williams 6:3, 6:1 on Monday. 

Also successful were the Roland Garros winners Ivan Dodig and his Taiwanese partner Latisha Chan (8th seed) who in the 3rd round defeated Taipei Cheng-Peng Hsieh and Su-Wei Hsieh 6:3, 6:2. The next rivals will be Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Slovenian Andreja Klepač. 

Mate Pavić and mixed doubles partner Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski will end their second-round game on Tuesday against Briton Jamie Murray and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands as it was interrupted due to the darkness at 6:4, 3:6, 4:3.

Recall, Croatia no longer has any representatives in the singles competition of Wimbledon after Petra Martić lost on Monday in the round of 16 to the number 8 tennis player in the world, Ukrainian Elina Svitolina – 6:4, 6:2.

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

Wimbledon begins on Monday, July 1 and the draw for the singles and doubles competition was held on Friday. Who will our Croatian tennis stars face?

The current best Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić, who is the 14th seed in the tournament, will play against the best Slovenian tennis player Aljaza Bedene in the first round of the third Grand Slam tournament, the draw decided on Friday.

This will be the fifth encounter of Ćorić, the 14th best tennis player in the world, and Bedene, who is 86th in the ATP ranking. In the past four matches, Ćorić achieved three wins.

If he passes to the second round, Ćorić will play the winner of German Jan-Lenard Struff and Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. Against Struff, the 34th best player in the world, Ćorić has won twice in five meetings. Against Baghdatis, who is currently 138th ATP rankings, Ćorić celebrated in their only encounter. 

Marin Čilić, the 13th seed of Wimbledon, will play in the second round against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who he's played twice and defeated once. If Ćorić wins, he awaits the winner of Portuguese player Joao Sousa and British player Paul Jubb.

Ivo Karlović’s opponent in the first round is Italian Andrea Arnaboldi, the 209th tennis player in the world, who he has not met thus far. If the 40-year-old advances to the second round, he awaits the winner of Greek player Stefan Tsitsipas, the 7th seed of the tournament, and Italian Thomas Fabian.

In the women's competition, Croatia's best female player Donna Vekić will face American Alison Riske, 54th on the WTA ranking. If she advances to the second round, Vekić awaits the winner of Serbian player Ivana Jorović and Dutch player Lesley Kerkhove.

In the first round, the 24th seeded Petra Martić will face American Jennifer Brady, the 64th best tennis player in the world, for the first time. If she advances to the second round, Martić will play the winner of Russian Anastasia Potapova and Swiss player Jil Teichman.

In the first round of the doubles competition, Mate Pavić and Bruno Soares will meet Dutch duo Arends and Middelkoop, Ivan Dodig and partner Polasek will meet British duo Murray and Skupski, and Croatian duo Nikola Mektić and Franko Škugor will meet Lithuanian Berankis and Hungarian Fucsovics.

Wimbledon begins on Monday, July 1, and will play until July 14.

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

What a memorable week it has been for Croatian doubles team Nikola Mektić and Franko Škugor! 

A fantastic success of Nikola Mektić in Indian Wells! The Zagreb tennis player and his Argentinian doubles partner Horacio Zeballos are the winners of this year's Masters 1000 Series Tournament in Indian Wells. The duo celebrated in the final against Polish player Lukasz Kubot and Brazilian Marcelo Melo - 4:6, 6:4, 10:3, reports HTS on March 17, 2019. 

That feeling of winning an #ATPMasters1000 title! @NMektic @HoracioZeballos | #BNPP19

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) March 17, 2019

After losing the first set, Mektić and Zeballos did not face a break until the end of the match, and once they took their opponents service in the 10th game, they equalized in sets. 

In the decisive tie-break, they started with an advantage of 5:1 and pulled through until the end of the match. 

Nikola has thus claimed his sixth career title (in 11 finals), and second in the Masters 1000 Series tournaments after Madrid last year, which he won with Austrian partner Alexander Pey.

The success of Mektić and Zeballos is even more significant because this is only the second tournament the duo has played together. Recall, on their way to the triumph they had a challenging draw and even had to overcome the best doubles team in the world! In the 2nd round of the tournament, they also saved two match points against French duo Herbert and Mahout.

“I cannot believe that we won Indian Wells. After the winning point, we looked at each other in disbelief, as if this is at all possible. Now we know that we can get everyone as a doubles team,” said the Zagreb native. 

As winners, Mektić and Zeballos added 1000 points to their ranking and have won a $457,000 cash prize. Mektić also became the first Croatian to claim the title in the Californian desert after Ivan Ljubičić defeated Andy Roddick in the final in 2010 to become the first Croat ever to win Indian Wells. 

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

Nikola Mektić will play in the US Open doubles final on Saturday. 

The 33-year-old tennis player has reached the 10th doubles title of his career!

Croatian tennis players continue to dominate in doubles competitions on the ATP Tour.