July 12, 2019 – Ivan Dodig is the last remaining Croatian representative at the Wimbledon tournament this year, announced the Croatian Tennis Federation.
After losing in the semi-final of men’s doubles, Ivan Dodig and Taiwanese partner Latisha Chan were able to secure a spot in the semi-final of the mixed doubles tournament after overcoming British duo Evan Hoyt and Eden Silva 7:5, 7:6 (5).
In both sets, Dodig and Chan were a break behind (in the first set they lost 4:1, in the second 5:2), yet they found a way to win in two sets. The two-time Roland Garros winners will play against the 5th seed, Dutchman Wesley Koolhof and his Czech partner Květa Peschke on Friday, though the time is yet to be announced.
Unfortunately, Franko Škugor and Raluca Olaru were stopped in the quarter-final of the mixed doubles tournament. After a big fight in three sets (6:7(6), 6:3, 7:5) it was Swedish player Robert Lindstedt and Latvian Jelena Ostapenko to secure their spot in the semis. In the third set, Olaru lost her serve on two occasions (the last time at 5: 5), which in the end proved to be crucial for the defeat of the Croatian-Romanian duo.
Recall, Ivan Dodig failed to advance to his second Wimbledon final in men’s doubles since 2013, after he and partner Filip Polášek lost to French duo Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6:2, 7:6(7), 7:6(2).
The Croatian-Slovakian duo poorly opened the match and after 4:0, their opponents had no problem winning the first set. For the rest of the match, the game was far more equal, and Dodig and Polašek missed their chance in the tie-break of the second set when at 6:5 they had a set point on their serve. In tie-break of the third set they led 2:0, then lost seven consecutive points. They did not use any of the five break points in the duel.
Mate Pavić and Canadian partner Gabriela Dabrowski (3rd seed) lost in the third round of mixed doubles after a marathon three hours and 18 minutes of play against New Zealander Artem Sitak and German Laura Siegemund – 5:7, 7:6(5), 13:12(5). Leading 10:9, Pavić and Dabrowski missed a match point and lost a tie-break at 12:12, and continued to lose three consecutive points.
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