Mate Pavic: I want to Win Wimbledon and an Olympic Medal

Croatia's Mate Pavic, a former World No. 1 in doubles and currently ranked No 15 in the world, says he would like to win the Wimbledon doubles title and an Olympic medal in an interview to TenisBrasil.

Pavic has never played in the Olympic Games before and says he believes he has a good chance at a medal in the men's doubles event. "There are some guys like Dodig, Mektic and Skugor, who are high in the rankings and are very good options. It will be my first Olympic Games, I have not been to the Rio Games, and I believe I have a good chance of fighting for a medal. That's an extra motivation and I'm looking forward to being in the competition. I don't think we will have representatives in the mixed doubles competition. We even have good players in the WTA ranking, like  Vekic and  Martic , but I think they will not compete. If they are, I can talk to some, because I really like mixed doubles and I already won two Grand Slams in mixed."

Pavic adds that he would like to win an Olympic medal of any kind and the Wimbledon title as they both have special significance for Croatians. "We Croatians are very fond of sports. When we were runners-up at the World Cup two years ago, half a million people came to welcome them back. At the Rio Games we won about 10 medals and getting one is very important in Croatia. Qualifying for the ATP  Finals  is always a goal, because if you qualify it is because you had a good season. I have achieved several things like a Grand Slam title and also Davis Cup, but one thing that is still missing for me is winning Wimbledon, where I already reached a final and lost. I grew up watching Goran (Ivanisevic) win the tournament and that's why it's special for us Croats.  I would say that anyone's biggest goal would be to try to be number one in the world at some point and if I had to compare these two things I would say that that was more important than winning a Slam. Fortunately I got both, but if I had to choose it would be number one."

Pavic is currently playing doubles with Bruno Soares and says the two gel well on and off the court.  'I've known him for a long time on the circuit, he's a nice guy, easy to get along with and we're kind of similar in that respect. I think his game fits well with mine, I like how he plays and I would like to have him by my side, so we are together. It's been almost half a year since we formed the partnership, we had some good tournaments and I believe we can improve even more. He has a good return and that is something I like. He knows a lot about the doubles game and those were some of the reasons why I chose him."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2wEpnBB