Since a narrow loss to Greece in 2023, Team Croatia are more motivated than ever to hoist the United Cup trophy in 2024.
And what’s more, they have momentum and confidence behind them as they go into the second edition of the mixed team event.
Borna Coric and Donna Vekic will represent their country in Group F in Sydney, where they will battle Netherlands and Norway.
TICKETS: Cheer on Team Croatia at United Cup 2024
SYDNEY: United Cup City Spotlight
Coric remembers the loss to Greece in Perth in January, which prevented Croatia progressing to the semifinals in the inaugural event.
“We were really pushing hard last year; it was a very close match with Greece, I think we lost 3-2. So it was really, really close. And obviously it was tough on us,” Coric told unitedcup.com in Melbourne, where he is already preparing for the Australian summer of tennis.
“So we are getting this year hopefully some better results.
"I enjoyed it (in 2023), it was a very cool experience to play also with my teammates from Croatia. Last year it was an even bigger squad, now it's a little bit less, which in a way I think is also good.
“But yeah, I'm already here, decided to come here early, so it was actually a win-win situation for me to play United Cup.”
Six months ago, Coric and Vekic teamed up to win the Hopman Cup, which returned to the schedule after a four-year absence at the Nice Lawn Tennis Club.
Having been friends since their junior days, it was an enjoyable week for the duo, who had rarely, if ever, played mixed doubles.
They went undefeated as a combination, which bodes well for when they reunite at Sydney Olympic Park.
Croatia first takes on Norway on 1 January at Ken Rosewall Arena.
"To be honest I've never played mixed doubles before the Hopman Cup, probably maybe only once. So it was something new for us,” said Coric, who will face world No.11 Casper Ruud in the singles match-up.
“But we also enjoyed it, we also had lots of fun. But at the same time, we showed to ourselves that also we can play good mixed doubles.
“Hopefully this year we can also play good at the United Cup.”
Strong performance in team events often correlates with the strong bond the teammates share.
And few teams at United Cup 2024 can boast the connection shared by Coric and Vekic, players with plenty of parallels.
Both 27 years old, their representative records for Croatia in Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup are almost identical – Vekic is an impressive 16-8 lifetime, Coric 16-9 – and they’ve both gone through the process of rebounding from lengthy injuries.
“We’ve been friends for a very long time, and I think it’s maybe the last couple of years that we are even closer than before. We’ve spent almost every week together on tour (over the years) so it’s good to have a close friend,” said Vekic, who even cooked dinner for Coric during Roland Garros.
Vekic clearly thrived in Croatia’s team environment at United Cup 2023, going undefeated in three singles matches.
Coric wasn’t far off matching that record, going 2-1 in his three singles outings.
Should they replicate those figures under the new competition format in 2024, and carry on their mixed doubles form from six months ago, Team Croatia will be hard to stop in Sydney.
