Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic entered the 2018 Australian Open on fire, becoming just the fifth team to win two ATP World Tour events leading up to the year’s first Grand Slam, capturing trophies at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open and the ASB Classic. But while none of those first four teams advanced past the semi-finals at Melbourne Park, the Austrian-Croatian team surged all the way to its maiden Grand Slam title, defeating 11th seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 6-4, 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena. "I don't know what to say," Pavic said in disbelief. "I'm really happy with everything, with these two weeks, with the beginning of the year. We still haven't lost a match." Marach and Pavic...
Opportunity is knocking at Melbourne Park, and either the pair of Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic or Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah will seize that chance Saturday evening to claim their maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. Marach and Pavic, the No. 7 seeds, entered the tournament on fire and have kept the momentum going at the year’s first major. The Austrian-Croatian duo captured its second and third ATP World Tour titles as a team at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (d. Murray/Soares) and the ASB Classic (d. Mirnyi/Oswald) in the first and second week of the season, respectively. And the duo will be able to rely on experience in a Grand Slam final as well. Last year, they fell in an...
Watch this preview of the 2018 Australian Open men's doubles final in which seventh seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic will play 11th seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah for what will be the victors' maiden major victory.
Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic extended their winning streak in 2018 and are riding on the crest of a wave in Melbourne. The seventh-seeded team from Austria and Croatia used their collective experience on Thursday to book a place in the Australian Open final after overcoming Japan’s Ben Mclachlan and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) in two hours and 26 minutes. Marach and Pavic battled back from a 1/3 deficit in the deciding set tie-break, putting Mclachlan and Struff under pressure to commit four groundstroke errors – two forehand and two backhand – as the seventh seeds won six of the next seven points. Marach, 37, and 24-year-old Pavic are now 13 matches unbeaten this year. Prior to...
It may be early in the season, but Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic are garnering the headlines for their exceptional start. Now 12 matches unbeaten in 2018, the Austrian-Croatian team is through to the Australian Open semi-finals. Seventh seeds Marach and Pavic grit their teeth and held their nerves to knock out Marcus Daniell of New Zealand and Great Britain’s Dominic Inglot 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5) in two hours and 40 minutes on Tuesday. The in-form pair recovered from an 0/5 deficit in the second set tie-break by winning six straight points, but was unable to convert match point opportunities at 6/5, 8/7 and 10/9. With no service breaks in the deciding set, both teams swung freely in the tie-break before...
