After the great success of the Croatian doubles, Nikola Mektić and Mate Pavić, who have secured their first Wimbledon title yesterday, some Croatian flavour will be present today on the Wimbledon Centre Court. Marija Čičak is one of the world’s top tennis umpires, and her amazing career will reach one of its greatest moments today. She has already been in the position of running the Wimbledon finals: in 2014, she was the chair umpire as Serena Williams beat Garbine Mugguruza, and in 2017 she umpired the female doubles finals.
But, a female umpire on the last day, the men’s singles final match? That has not happened at the All England Club!
US Open, another Grand Slam tournament saw two female umpires officiating both female and male finals in 2015 – and, yes, Marija Čičak was one of them, in charge of the female finals, while Eva Asderaki-Moore sat in the chair for the men’s finals. But, things change even at the bastions of tradition, and Wimbledon is absolutely one of those.
Marija Čičak, 43, was born and raised in Zagreb, where she played tennis until the age of 18. During her university years, the Croatian umpire tells in an interview with WTA tennis last year, she started officiating as a hobby, never expecting to become a professional. And after being a pro umpire, she can say that she’s achieved it all!
Novak Đoković of Serbia will be playing for his 20th Grand Slam title today, his 6th in the All England Club against the 7th seed, Italian Matteo Berrettini. Berrettini also made history for his nation, being the first Italian singles player in the Wimbledon finals.
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