Davis Cup future side: Croatia
IT has seemed a world away since Spain lifted the 2019 Davis Cup. While the 2020 edition was ultimately cancelled and had to be postponed until 2021, it gives tennis fans extra time to work out what teams might look like when it recommences.
Draft Central will take a look at various nations over the break and see what the team might look like. Today’s team is Croatia, the second ranked side in the world, which might come as a surprise to many, but with an elite doubles combination and consistent singles players, they are always a threat to the big nations.
TEAM:
#24 Borna Coric
#42 Marin Cilic
#4D Mate Pavic
#8D Nikola Mektic
Croatia has had its success over the years, but it is also very restricted in what its team could look like in order to reach success. The doubles combination of Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic is the best of the bigger nations and therefore gives them a head start in the often deciding tie. However, while there are others such as Ivan Dodig and Franko Skugor who are also ranked in the Top 30 for doubles, Croatia does not have the depth in the singles.
Having won the title in 2018, Marin Cilic has been the number one singles player for a long time, holding the records of most years played (13), most ties played (26), most total wins (41) and most singles wins (31). He is an easy choice for the singles, as is Top 30 player and now top ranked Croatian, Borna Coric. The world number 24 is 24-years-old, eight years Cilic’s junior which gives the nation some confidence going forward.
Borna Gojo – a developing 22-year-old talent – was able to get a gig with Cilic in Croatia’s win against India last year, and is the natural replacement for Cilic to team up with Coric over the years. But the big issue is, after the two Top 50 players, the next highest ranked is 147th giant, 41-year-old Ivo Karlovic, and then Gojo at 221st in the world. They do not have the depth of other nations and it will hurt.
Ultimately the four players they have when fit can match it with a lot of sides, and if Cilic can win the number two singles then they are every chance to go deep. But if injuries or unavailabilities hit, then Croatia could very easily tumble down the Davis Cup world rankings.
Picture: DENIS CHARLET/AFP/Getty Images
Homecourt Humbert upsets Alcaraz
A RAUCOUS home crowd got Frenchman Ugo Humbert over the line against world number two Carlos Alcaraz to reach the quarter finals of the Paris ATP 1000 Masters. Humbert produced some lights out tennis, motivated by the fans driving him to a 6-1 3-6 7-5 epic victory. He looked to be doing it easy against […]
Popyrin powers to Paris pearler
AUSTRALIAN Alexei Popyrin has produced one of the best wins of his career, defeating fourth seed and US Open winner Daniil Medvedev in an incredible three-set match. Popyrin needed two and a half hours in Paris overnight to book his place in the ATP 1000 Masters Round of 16, winning 6-4 2-6 7-6. The deciding […]
Demon dares to dream as Ruud, Rublev gets rolled
AUSSIE Alex de Minaur‘s hopes of a maiden ATP Finals birth are within his own control after Russian Andrey Rublev suffered a spectacular second round defeat at the Paris Masters overnight. While Rublev went down to Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo in two tiebreakers, de Minaur overcame Cerundolo’s compatriot Mariano Navone, 7-5 6-1. Coming into the ATP […]
Tsitsipas survives first round Paris test
DESPITE being on the ropes early, Greek talent Stefanos Tsitsipas was able to recover and see off Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena in just under two hours at the 2024 Paris Masters. The first round match saw the 10th seed – who has had a mediocre 5-4 record since the Laver Cup – have to fight […]
Frenchman aces past Shelton to win
BECOMING the lowest ranked player to win the Swiss Indoors event since it joined the official ATP Tour, Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard is now an ATP 500 champion. The towering young talent aced his way to victory against equally impressive server Ben Shelton, providing an ominous sign of things to come in a 6-4 7-6 […]
Young guns fire in Basel
A QUARTET of future stars battled it out in the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 semi-finals overnight, giving fans a glimpse into what to expect over the next decade. In the end, 2024’s big improver in huge serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and American cult hero Ben Shelton booked their places in the Basel decider. Mpetshi […]
Demon dashes closer to Turin in Vienna
A LOSS to Andrey Rublev compounding earlier defeats to Tommy Paul and Grigor Dimitrov has given Aussie Alex de Minaur an opportunity to snatch the last spot in the ATP Finals race. The Australian advanced through to the Erste Bank Open semi-finals overnight with a 6-7 6-3 6-4 win over young Czech Jakub Mensik. The […]
Machac marches into Vienna quarters
DEFYING the odds against the ATP Tour’s best indoor player in 2024, Czech Tomas Machac upset world number nine Grigor Dimitrov‘s chances of reaching the ATP Finals. Machac won the pair’s maiden encounter, winning 6-7 6-4 6-3 under the roof at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The match itself lasted two hours and 31 […]
Felix eyes Basel three-peat by Baez beating
BASEL has always been a source of success for Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, and now the eighth seed is into the Swiss Indoors ATP 500 event second round in 2024. Auger-Aliassime is a back-to-back winner at the indoor hardcourt event having won the past two years and is now just four wins away from completing a […]
