September 10, 2020 - In the first-ever US Open doubles final that featured two Croatian players, Mate Pavic wins the title against Nikola Mektic. 

On the opposite sides of the court on Thursday evening was Nikola Mektic and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof, against Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares. Mektic and Koolhof were the 8th-seed of the tournament, while Pavic and Soares were 5th. 

In the final match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, Pavic and Soares were more successful, beating Nikola Mektic and Koolhof 7:5, 6:3. 

It took just 47 minutes for Pavic and Soares to win the first set. The duo won 7:5, and with a break in the sixth game of the second set, they came close to the title.

Pavic has so far played in the men's doubles finals in all three remaining Grand Slam tournaments. He won the Australian Open in 2018, while losing the Wimbledon final in 2017 and Roland Garros in 2018. Each time his partner was Austrian Oliver Marach.

?? Mate Pavic & ?? Bruno Soares win their first #USOpen doubles title as a team! pic.twitter.com/vzrgm7F6tG

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2020

In addition, Pavic has two titles in the mixed doubles. In 2016, he won the US Open with German Laura Siegemund, and in 2018 the Australian Open with Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski with whom he lost the Roland Garros final in 2018 and 2019.

That ? feeling.

Mate Pavic & Bruno Soares are your 2020 US Open men's doubles champions!@BrunoSoares82 | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/fosN2rEiMP

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2020

For Mektic, this was his first men's doubles final at a Grand Slam tournament. His biggest success so far has been the Roland Garros semifinals in 2018, when he played with Austrian Alexander Peya.

Earlier this year, Mektic won the Australian Open title in the mixed doubles competition with Czech Barbora Krejcikova, while two years ago, he played the finals of the mixed doubles in New York with Polish partner Alicia Rosolska.

First trophy raise of the tournament and it feels so good. ?@BrunoSoares82 | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/AEl8MWiQIz

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 10, 2020

This is the first Croatian title at the US Open in men's doubles since the legendary Nikola Pilic 50 years ago.

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September 9, 2020 - Croatia's last two representatives Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic will meet in the doubles final of the US Open!

For the first time in his career, Nikola Mektic will play in the final of a Grand Slam tournament in the men's doubles competition!

After the semifinals of Wimbledon 2017 and Roland Garros 2018, the Zagreb native took a step further in New York. Mektic and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof surpassed the 3rd seed, American Rajeev Rama and British Joe Salisbury in the semifinal match in two sets - 7:6 ( 3), 6:4.

The key moment of the duel happened in the ninth game of the second set when Ram and Salisbury lost their serve for the second time in the match. Mektic will be looking for his second Grand Slam title (the first he won this year at the Australian Open in mixed doubles with Czech partner Barbora Krejcikova) against countryman Mate Pavic and his Brazilian partner Bruno Soares.

Mate Pavic managed to advance to the doubles finals of the US Open with Soares after defeating Royer and Tecau 6:4, 7:5 in the semifinals after an hour and 26 minutes of play.

In the second set, Rojer and Tecau served for the set at 5:3, but Pavic and Soares managed to return the break, reached another, and advance to the final. The Croatian doubles final will be played on Thursday. 

Borna Coric failed to make it to the semifinals of the US Open. Coric's campaign in New York was cut short in the quarterfinals by the 7th-best tennis player in the world, German Alexander Zverev, who won in four sets - 1:6, 7:6 (5), 7:6 1), 6:3.

Until the middle of the second set, it seemed that Borna could surprise Zverev - he started the match very well, easily took the first set, and took the lead with 4:2 in the second. But Zverev caught the right rhythm and equalized thanks to a tie-break.

In the third set, Zverev was the first to break for 2:1, Borna immediately fought back, and the story later ended again in the 13th game, which Zverev took without any major problems.

The fourth set was dominated by the German tennis player who, after a break in the eighth game, managed to bring the match to an end. Borna scored five aces (Zverev 18) during the match, had a first-serve percentage of 72 percent, and used only four of 15 break points (Zverev three of eight). It was their fifth meeting and Zverev's second victory.

Source: HTS

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September 7, 2020 - Wonderful news from New York this morning as Borna Coric advances to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal! 

Croatian tennis player Borna Coric has advanced to his first quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament with a 7:5, 6:1, 6:3 victory over Australian Jordan Thompson. Coric defeated Thompson after two hours and ten minutes of play.

After the epic match and the incredible turnaround against the sixth-best player in the world, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (6:7 (2), 6:4, 4:6, 7:5, 7:6), Coric had a much easier job against the 63rd-best tennis player in the world.

The Australian dropped his serve early for 2:1 in favor of Coric, but came back and equalized at 5:5. That was all we saw last night from Thompson, and until the end of the match, Borna Coric was the only one visible on the court.

The second and third sets went easier, as Coric broke his rival in the second with three breaks, while in the third, one was enough for a spot in the quarterfinal.

? if you're into your first #USOpen quarterfinal pic.twitter.com/8nV620jzty

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 7, 2020

In the quarterfinals of the US Open, Coric will face the seventh-best player in the world, German player Alex Zverev. In their meetings so far, Borna leads 3:1. Their only match at a Grand Slam tournament was in 2017 at the US Open when Borna won 3:1.

Nikola Mektic and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof will play in the doubles semifinal of the US Open! Eighth-seed Nikola and Koolhof won the quarterfinals match 7:6 (6), 6:3 against the Belgian duo Sander Gille / Joran Vliegen.

The Croatian-Dutch pair went through the first part of the road to victory by winning the tie-break in the first set, in which Gille and Vliegen had two set points at 6:4. In the second set, a break in the fourth game was enough.

Passing the quarterfinals, Mektic reached his third semifinal in the men's doubles of Grand Slam tournaments, after Wimbledon in 2017 (with Franko Skugor) and Roland Garros in 2018, when he played with Austrian Alexander Peya. On the way to the first final, their rivals will be the third-seeded American Rajeev Ram and Briton Joe Salisbury.

Last year's quarterfinal at Roland Garros remains the best result for Petra Martic at Grand Slam tournaments. Kazakhstani Julia Putinceva beat the best Croatian female tennis player and 8th-seed in the round of 16 of the US Open. The match ended 6:3, 2:6, 6: 4 for the 35th-best female tennis player in the world.

Petra started the match poorly, but after 15 minutes, Putinceva had a 5:0 lead and, although Martic continued to play much better, she did not miss the opportunity to win that set.

The second set was another story. After 2:2, Martic equalized for 1:1 thanks to a great game and a great series. And when a complete turnaround was expected, Petra stopped, allowed Putinceva to take over the game and quickly lead 4:0, and later 5:1.

However, Petra did not give up, she managed to reduce the score to 5:4, but Putinceva managed to serve for her biggest career result. Martic scored four aces during the match, had a first-serve percentage of 59 percent, and used four of 10 break points. During the match, she made 39 unforced errors (Putinceva 25) and scored 40 winners (Putinceva 26).

Source: HTS

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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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September 5, 2020 - Great news just in from New York as Petra Martic and Borna Coric advanced to the last 16 of the US Open!

A new success for Petra Martic at the US Open, as Croatia's best female tennis player and 8th-seed of the tournament, advanced to the round of 16 on Friday, defeating Russian Varvara Gracheva (102nd on the WTA list) in two easy sets - 6:3, 6:3.

In the first set, the Russian player held the result at 1:1, and Petra took the 1-0 lead with two breaks.

Unfortunately, in the first game of the second set, Martic allowed Gracheva a new chance to break, but she returned immediately in the next game. After 3:1, Martic managed to save as many as five chances for Gracheva to reduce the score to 3:2, but the Russian still returned and served at 4:3.

Fortunately, Martic managed to lead 5:3 and served for the match. In the last game, Martic did not lose a single point and advanced to the 4th round of the US Open for the first time in her career.

Her opponent will be Kazakhstani player Yulia Putintseva, who beat Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. It will be the first meeting between Martic, currently the 15th best player in the world, and Putintseva, who is 35th in the WTA rankings.

After four hours and 38 minutes of play, Croatian tennis player Borna Coric also reached the last 16 of the US Open! Coric defeated the fourth seed, Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas, in five sets.

It seems that nothing can stop Borna Coric at this year's special edition of the US Open, including the sixth-best player in the world.

It was a marathon match that went to five sets, and in the fourth set, Coric achieved the impossible as he was down 2-1 and 5:1 and saved as many as six match points. The match ended 6-7(2), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4).

"I have to be honest and say that I was really lucky. I made some unbelievable returns, and I was a little bit lucky at the end. In the third and fourth set, he was playing unbelievable tennis, and I felt like I had no chance. In the fifth-set tie-break, I knew it was not going to be easy for him, so I tried to just keep the ball in court and make him play as many balls as possible," said Coric after the match for the ATP Tour.

In the last 16, Coric will face Australian Jordan Thompson, who convincingly defeated Mikhail Kukushkin in three sets. 

Donna Vekic will face Tsvetana Pironkova in the third round on Saturday, while Marin Cilic will face Dominic Thiem in his third-round match. 

Nikola Mektic and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof (8th-seed) advanced to the doubles quarterfinals of the US Open! The duo topped Italian-Argentine team Simone Bolelli / Maximo Gonzalez in the 2nd round match - 6:4, 6:3. After the semifinals of Wimbledon 2017 and Roland Garros 2018, this is their third-best result in men's doubles at the Grand Slam tournaments.

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September 4, 2020 - Donna Vekic and Marin Cilic join Petra Martic and Borna Coric in the third round of the US Open!

It was an extremely convincing performance by Donna Vekic in the 2nd round of the US Open, as it took the Osijek player only 69 minutes to win against Romanian Patricia Maria Tig (88th on the WTA list) with only three lost games - 6:2, 6:1.

The very beginning of the match suggested that Donna would have a far harder job, as Tig came to a break in the third game and took the lead with 2:1. But after that, her game quickly fell apart, and Donna lost only one more game by the end of the match.

During the match, Vekic scored four aces with a first-serve percentage of 66 percent, and used five of the nine break points. Her next opponent will be Bulgarian Cvetana Pironkova (a player with a protected ranking), who surprised the 10th seed, Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, in the 2nd round.

It took Marin Cilic more than three hours to advance to the third round of this year's US Open. Namely, Slovak Norbert Gombos (104th on the ATP list) proved himself in the 2nd round match as an extremely strong and challenging opponent who almost took the match to the fifth set.

Namely, at 1:2 in sets, Gombos had a 5:4 lead and two set points on Marin's serve, but he failed to realize them. After that, Cilic came to a break, and then to the victory - 6:3, 1:6, 7:6 (2), 7:5. It seems that the key to the outcome of the match was the third set in which Gombos led with 4:2, but Marin still managed to return and reach a 2:1 lead in the tie-break.

He scored 15 aces with a first-serve percentage of 63 percent and used four of the 12 break points. Marin now awaits the 2nd seed and 3rd best tennis player in the world, Austrian Dominic Thiem. They have played twice so far, and Thiem has celebrated in both matches.

Petra Martic will play her third-round match against Russian Varvara Andreyevna Gracheva on Friday, while Borna Coric will face Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

Source: HTS

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September 3, 2020 - Petra Martic and Borna Coric are the first Croatian representatives to advance to the US Open's third round. Donna Vekic and Marin Cilic will play in the second round today.

Petra Martic was the first of the Croatian representatives to advance to the 3rd round of the US Open, after defeating Ukrainian Katerina Bondarenko (349th on the WTA list) in the 2nd round on Wednesday without any major problems. Martic celebrated 6:3, 6:4.

Petra was especially dominant at the beginning of the first set, where she quickly took a 5:1 lead. Bondarenko reduced it to 5:3, but couldn't do more than that.

The second set was far more uncertain and was decided after a break in the 10th game. Martic scored eight aces with a first-serve percentage of 64 percent and used only four of 16 break points.

To advance to the round of 16, she will play against Russian Varvara Gracheva, the 102nd-best player on the WTA list. They played recently in the 1st round of the WTA tournament in Prague, where Petra was better in two sets.

Borna Coric also advanced to the third round of the US Open and thus surpassed last year's result when he was forced to hand over the match to Grigor Dimitrov due to injury in the second round.

After a smooth victory in three sets against Pablo Andujar, Coric faced Juan Ignacio Londero. The match started with an early exchange of breaks, and the next came at 5:5 when Borna took the Argentine's serve and soon took the set with 7:5.

In the second set, Londero was the one who had the initiative, but at the end of the set, Borna returned and reduced the score to 5:4. Instead of directing the set towards a tie-break, he lost the next service game and automatically the set with 6:4.

In the third set, Borna missed too much. He started great and took a 4-1 lead, and instead of routinely doing the job and taking a 2-1 lead in sets, he allowed Londero to come back, and the Argentine took the set in a tie-break.

Coric was much more concentrated in the next two sets. In the fourth, he broke Londero twice and took the set with 6:2, and in the fifth, he broke in the fourth game, which was enough to advance to the next round. 

Coric will have a much harder job in the third round when he faces Stefanos Tsitsipas. 

Croatia's second female representative Donna Vekic passed the first round of the US Open. The Osijek native and 18th seed defeated Czech Kristyna Plišková (66th on the WTA list) - 3:6, 7:6 (6), 6:4.

Pliškova was close to victory; after winning the first set, in the second, she took the 5:3 lead, and at 5:4, she served for the match. Donna still managed to celebrate in the tie-break of the second set.

In the third set, she managed to find a way to succeed after a break in the ninth game. During the match, she scored six aces (Pliškova 16) with a first-serve percentage of 57 percent and used three of the eight break points. In the second round, she will play against Romanian Patricia Maria Tig, the world's 88th-best tennis player.

It took three hours and 33 minutes for Marin Cilic (ATP - 38th) to beat American Denis Kudla (ATP - 111th), which he reached after his opponent led 2-0 in sets and had a 5:3 lead in the third set. Cilic celebrated 6:7 (3), 3:6, 7:5, 7:5, 6:3. It was the eighth turnaround of this sort in Cilic's career, half of which occurred at the US Open, where he is playing for the 12th time.

Marin Cilic will play Slovak tennis player Norbert Gombos (104th on ATP list) in the second round on Thursday. 

Ivo Karlovic finished his performance at his 17th US Open. The 41-year-old from Zagreb was stopped in the first round by the Frenchman Richard Gasquet (51st on the ATP list) - 7: 6 (0), 7: 6 (4), 6:1.

Ivo missed his opportunity to do something more in this match in the second set in which he reached his only break in the duel, and later a 5:3 advantage. Still, Gasquet returned in the 10th game, and the story once again went to a tie-break in which the Frenchman took the 2-0 lead.

Ivo gave up in the third set. After the initial 1:1, the Frenchman went to victory with a large series. Ivo achieved 20 aces during the match with a first-serve percentage of 57 percent, and used one of six break points.

Of the three Croatian representatives in doubles who played in the 1st round of the US Open on Wednesday, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic made their way further.

Mektic and Dutchman Wesley Koolhof (8th seed) celebrated at the start against Serbian Nikola Cacic and Indian Divi Sharan (6:4, 3:6, 6:3), while Pavic and Brazilian Bruno Soares (5th seed) topped Spaniard Marcel Granollers and Argentine Horace Zeballos - 3:6, 6:4, 6:4.

Franko Skugor and American Austin Krajicek lost to 3rd seed, American Rajeev Rama and Briton Joe Salisbury (6:2, 6:7 (5), 6:3).

Source: HTS

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September 1, 2020 - Croatian representatives Borna Coric and Petra Martic have moved into the second round of the US Open!

Croatian tennis player Borna Coric advanced to the 2nd round of this year's US Open, overcoming Spaniard Pablo Andujar 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 at the start of the tournament. 

Coric, the 27th seed, took two hours and 23 minutes to win against the world's 53rd best tennis player.

The young Croatian tennis player had problems only in the first set, while he won convincingly in the second and third sets.

Andujar entered the match better. He won the first game, and then had the chance to break in the next two games on Borna's serve. However, he did not take advantage of any of the three opportunities. Coric received his first opportunity in the fifth game and immediately took the serve away from his opponent. But already in the next game, the 34-year-old Spaniard equalized at 3-3. The Spaniard also had the 5-4 lead, but Coric managed to equalize at 5-5, only to take the 6-5 lead in the next game, then calmly served for 7-5 and a 1-0 lead in sets.

Coric played the rest of the match almost without a mistake. In the second set, at 1-1, he took the serve from Andujar for the first time, and at 5-3, for the second time.

Borna opened the third set by winning three games in a row, and there was no turning back. The Spaniard reduced his lead to 3-1, only for Borna to win three more games in a row for the final 6-1.

Coric has never played against the 34-year-old Andujar, and in the 2nd round, he will play Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero, who beat Russian Evgeni Donskoy 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 at the start of the tournament. They have played once, this year in Rio de Janeiro, and Coric celebrated 7-6, 7-5.

Female Croatian representative Petra Martic needed two and a half hours and three sets to win against Czech player Tereza Martincova (136th on the WTA list) at the opening of this year's US Open - 5: 7, 6: 2, 6: 4.

The beginning of the match was not the best for Petra - the Czech took the first set after the break in the 12th game, though the situation improved for Petra after winning the second set. Still, Martincova took the lead in the deciding set with 3-1, and it seemed that the 8th seed was close to saying goodbye to the tournament this year. However, Martic came back and scored five aces during the match with a modest first-serve percentage of 49 percent and used only five of the 21 breakpoints. In the 2nd round, Martic plays against Ukrainian Katerina Bondarenko, 349th on the WTA list.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, which particularly affected New York, the Grand Slam is being held in special conditions.

The tennis players are housed inside a "bubble," most in two hotels, and those who can afford it have rented houses where they will be monitored 24 hours a day. No one is allowed to leave the bubble, so that the coronavirus does not enter inside. 

Source: HRT

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August 30, 2020 - Croatian tennis players have learned their opponents in the first round of the US Open, to be held from Monday, August 31, 2020, in New York.

The best-ranked Croatian tennis player Borna Coric will play Spaniard Pablo Andujar in the first round of the US Open. Marin Cilic will play against the American Denis Kudla, and Ivo Karlovic will face the Frenchman Richard Gasquet, while the two female Croatian representatives will face two Czech opponents - Petra Martic against Tereza Martincova, and Donna Vekic against Kristyna Plišková.

The US Open begins Monday, August 31, 2020, at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York and will end September 13.

For the first time since 2003, there were no title defenders in the draw, as Canadian Bianca Andreescu and Spaniard Rafael Nadal will not participate in this year’s tournament. 

The first seed is the best tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, who will play in the first round against the Bosnian-Herzegovinian representative Damir Dzumhur. The second seed, Austrian Dominic Thiem, will play against Spaniard Jaume Munar.

In the women's competition, only four of the top ten tennis players were in the draw, and the first-seed is third in the WTA rankings, Karolina Pliškova from the Czech Republic. Her rival is Ukrainian Angelina Kalinin. The second-seed is the current winner of the Australian Open, American Sofia Kenin, who will play against Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer in the first round.

Returning to the court, Belgium's Kim Clijsters will play against Russia's 21st-seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, and Serena Williams, who will try to win her 24th individual Grand Slam title, has won compatriot Kristie Ahn as her rival.

Coric (ATP - 33rd) has never played against 34-year-old Andujar (ATP - 53rd), and the winner of the 2014 US Open Marin Cilic (ATP - 37th) beat 28-year-old Kudl (ATP - 111th) in four sets (6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5) five years ago in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon.

The oldest player in the tournament, 41-year-old Ivo Karlovic (ATP - 125th), will compete in his 16th appearance at the US Open for the seventh time in his career against seven-year-younger Gasquet (ATP - 50th), who defeated him five times. But Karlovic's only victory came at the US Open nine years ago, when Ivo celebrated in four sets (6-4, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6).

Coric was the 27th-seed in the upper part of the draw, while Cilic (31st) and the unplaced Karlovic were in the lower half.

Petra Martic (WTA - 14th) was placed eighth, and 25-year-old Tereza Martincova (WTA - 135th) was defeated (6-4, 7-5) in their only match played in 2015 in Bad Gastein, Austria.

Donna Vekic (WTA - 24th) will enter the duel against 28-year-old Kristyna Plišková (WTA - 64th) with a 2-1 advantage in mutual duels, and as the 18th-seed of this year's US Open, where she will defend her best result at the Grand Slam tournaments - last year's quarterfinals, when Swiss Belinda Benčić stopped her.

Martic was in the upper half and Vekic in the lower half of the draw.

Source: HRT

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September 5, 2019 - Donna Vekic and Ivan Dodig were eliminated from the US Open on Wednesday.

HTS reports that Donna Vekic has ended her run at the US Open this year after losing to the 12th best female player in the world in the quarterfinal, Switzerland's Belinda Bencic, 7:6 (5), 6:3.

In the biggest match of her career, Donna missed a massive opportunity in the first set when, in the ninth game, she had the chance to break her opponent and at 5:4 served to be 1:0 up in sets, though she was unable to capitalize. 

Bencic returned the lost serve and later in the tie-break clinched the first set. In the second set, Vekic held on to a 3:2 lead and then lost four games in a row to end her dream of a Grand Slam semi-final. It was the fourth encounter between Vekic and Bencic, and the Swiss star’s third win. Vekic achieved four aces with a first-serve percentage of 55 percent, scored 28 winners (Bencic 20) but also managed 28 unforced errors (Bencic 21).

Taiwanese player Hao-Ching Chan and New Zealander Michael Venus (1st seed) ended Latisha Chan and Ivan Dodig's stellar series at Grand Slam tournaments this year, where they’ve claimed the title of Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the mixed doubles competition. Namely, Chan and Venus eliminated Chan and Dodig in the US Open semi-final in two sets - 7:6 (3), 7:5.

Chan and Dodig started the match well, and reached a break already in the first game, but that was all they managed to do to against their rival. In game 10, Chan and Dodig lost their serve for the first time, and in the tie-break, they lost the first set. In the second set, both pairs held their serve firmly until game 11, though Dodig and Chan couldn't hold on much longer and ultimately lost the match in which they achieved 27 winners and made 26 unforced errors (Chan and Venus 16). 

Unfortunately, Croatia no longer has a representative in the US Open after Vekic and Dodig dropped out of the tournament on Wednesday. Recall, Petra Martic lost to Serena Williams, Marin Cilic to Rafael Nadal, Ivo Karlovic to Frances Tiafoe and Borna Coric pulled out due to an injury. Mate Pavic, Nikola Mektic, and Franko Skugor did not succeed in mixed and men’s doubles. 

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