Team to Watch: Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic
Two of Croatia's top players are banding together in the year ahead.
There will be plenty of big names returning to the tour in 2021 and young players making their moves after an abbreviated 2020, but doubles will also take center stage. Baseline is taking a look at which teams to watch in the new year.
The upper ranks of the men’s doubles game has long been occupied by veterans, many of whom have seen success at the Grand Slam level and have been at or near the top of the standings at some point.
For a young player to come in and more than hold their own is somewhat rare. However, Mate Pavic has pulled that off: Two years ago, right before he turned 25, the Croat became the youngest player to reach the No. 1 spot in more than two decades. He’s reached the final at all four majors, winning two of them, with his most recent title coming only a few months ago at the US Open alongside Bruno Soares.
The duo finished 2020 at the top of the team rankings, but they won’t be building upon that success next year as they’ve gone their separate ways. Pavic’s new partner will be someone he’s quite familiar with, both as a compatriot and opponent, Nikola Mektic.
Though he hasn’t reached the heights of Pavic, the 32-year-old has come close, reaching a career-high of No. 5 in the world last year. Going into 2020, Mektic was part of three different Masters 1000-winning teams. The tour veteran has been playing some peak tennis of late with this year, despite the shutdown, arguably being the best of his career. He and Wesley Koolhof reached the US Open final, losing to Pavic and Soares, then followed that up with a Roland Garros semifinal showing.
Those deep Slam appearances surely gave their a confidence a boost as the season wound down, culminating with the ATP Finals in London. Making their first appearance as a team at the year-end event, the Croatian-Dutch duo claimed the top prize, the biggest title for either of them.
With so much recent success, Mektic and Pavic are poised for another big season in 2021—this time, with each other as they aim for the top of the men’s rankings.
(Photos: Getty Images)