Olympia 2020: Croatian is spoken in the doubles final
The gold medal in the men's doubles at the 2020 Olympic Games will definitely go to Croatia. Either to the favorites Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic . Or to Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig .
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jul 29, 2021, 04:08 pm
Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic had to be expected in the final of the Olympic tennis tournament in Tokyo: The two Croatians have already won eight titles in the current season, including the last one in Wimbledon. Pavic leads the double world rankings ahead of Mektic, which is due to the fact that the charts also include results from last year. And the two Croatians were still on the road with other partners.
The fact that the gold medal match goes against compatriots Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig should be seen as a surprise. Dodig is a proven doubles expert who has already won the Australian Open this year. However, alongside Filip Polasek, who plays for Slovakia. Cicilc got himself back into shape in the individual, most recently in Stuttgart at the MercedesCup. In the final, however, one would have expected other pairings - for example, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, who were seeded in second position.
Dodig beats Mektic / Pavic with Polasek
But it is clear that Croatia can plan with gold and silver. Dodig and Cilic had even fewer problems in the 6: 2 and 6: 2 against the two New Zealanders Marcus Daniell and Michael Venus than Mektic and Pavic in the 6: 4 and 6: 4 against Tennys Sandgren and Austin Krajicek. The two Americans had beaten the last remaining German duo, Jan-Lennard Struff and Alexander Zverev, in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Although the favorite position in the final is clear, Cilic and Dodig should not be underestimated. Because the latter beat his final opponent from Tokyo Mektic and Pavic on his way to triumph in Melbourne with Polasek.