Donna Vekić and Nikola Mektić ended their doubles campaigns in the first round at tournaments in Toronto and Montreal. The only remaining Croatian hope is Mate Pavić, who takes the court tonight with new opponents.
The seventh day of August brought no good news for Croatian tennis fans. At two prestigious Masters tournaments held simultaneously in Canada, Croatian representatives in the doubles draw suffered early exits in the first round. Donna Vekić and Nikola Mektić bid farewell to the tournaments after convincing defeats, while the only bright spot remains Mate Pavić, who will try to secure a spot in the next round tonight.
At the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, Donna Vekić, partnering with Greece's Maria Sakkari, suffered a heavy defeat. Their opponents, the fifth seeds, Taiwan's Hsieh Su-Wei and Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, cruised to a 6-2, 6-2 victory. The Croatian-Greek duo failed to find an answer to the aggressive play of their experienced rivals.
With this loss, the campaign for all Croatian women in Toronto has come to an end. The only win for Croatia in the singles draw came from Antonia Ružić, who defeated France's Lois Boisson in the first round, but her run was halted by American Madison Keys in the second round. Donna Vekić had a bye in the first round of singles but was beaten in the second by Switzerland's Viktorija Golubić.
Nikola Mektić fared no better at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal. The Croatian Davis Cup representative and his American partner Austin Krajicek were defeated by the seventh seeds, Argentina's Guido Andreozzi and France's Manuel Guinard, 6-4, 6-2. Although a closer contest was expected, the South American-French combination dominated the court and advanced deservedly.
However, not all news from Canada is bad. Mate Pavić and his partner, El Salvador's Marcelo Arévalo, were scheduled to face the American duo of Alex Michelsen and Learner Tien, but they withdrew from the tournament. Organizers quickly responded and assigned the Croatian-Salvadoran pair replacement opponents, Americans Robert Cash and Brandon Nakashima. Their match is scheduled for tonight Central European Time, and Pavić will look to improve the mood after a poor day for Croatian tennis in Canada.
