Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic: Despite defeat, the measure of all things in men's doubles
Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic are currently dominating the men's doubles almost at will. A consistently impressive winning streak came to an end for the two of them in Toronto.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Aug 16, 2021, 07:04 am
It takes a lot of self-confidence to achieve such a turnaround. In the semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto, the top seeded doubles Pavic / Mektic were already faced with the impending set equalization when Tecau / Krawietz pulled away 5-1 in the tie-break of the second set. Even such a deficit is no problem for the Croatian duo these days - the leaders of the world rankings also secured this set after defending four set balls.
If it works, then it works, you could say. The two Croatians have been undefeated on the ATP tour since the beginning of June, when the Queen's Club in London suffered a clear defeat against Opelka / Peers. A defeat that seems to have triggered something in Croatian doubles, the last 18 matches since then went to Pavic / Mektic, the duo, it seems almost invincible at the moment.
Until the final in Toronto, in which the duo fell behind against Rajeev Ram and John Salisbury on Sunday. The British-American duo won the championship breakout in place of a third set. It was the first title at the ATP Masters 1000 level for Ram / Salisbury.
Gold in Tokyo, victory in Wimbledon
The previous triumphant advance of Pavic / Mektic is of course also associated with several titles. And quite prestigious, in the case of the two Croatians. After the triumph at the ATP 250 event in Eastbourne, the two Croatians were crowned champions of Wimbledon, days later the Olympic gold medal should follow in Tokyo. In a purely Croatian final, mind you, when they demystified Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig.
Despite the veritable flood of titles this year - Pavic / Mektic already won ten titles on the ATP tour in 2021, there is a beauty spot. Just at the French Open, bad news followed for the two: The Croatians were kicked out of the tournament due to a positive COVID-19 test, the dream of the title at the Bois de Bolougne, it suddenly burst.
It wasn't necessarily to be expected that things would go so well for the two Croatians this year. It was only since this season that the two have been serving each other, in the previous year they were still in competition. At that time, Mate Pavic had Brazilian Bruno Soares at his side, while Nikola Mektic was crowned Nitto ATP Finals Champion alongside Wesley Koolhof.