Week 38 ATP pick
Right-handed, currently No. 171 in the ATP singles rankings.
Career-High Rank
No. 171
SINGLES
Current Rank
No. 171
28 SEP 2026
Age
21
B. 19 JUL 2005
RTT Pick
Wk 38
RISING STAR
Subscriber exclusive · Issue No. 13
A professional signs for a university
A club on the edge of Osijek, a Zagreb membership bought for access to courts, and five coaches in four years. Then, ranked around No. 200, a scholarship to Texas, two days after a court opened the college door. Nine pages on the route and the rule change.
Country
🇭🇷 Croatia
Tour
ATP singles
Plays
Right-handed
Age
21
Born
19 July 2005
Current Rank
No. 171
Career High
No. 171
Career W–L
157–94
2026 W–L
31–19
Born in Osijek and coached by Velimir Zovko and Duje Delic, the 6'2" right-hander shares a surname with Croatia's doubles great Ivan Dodig but no family tree. He turned professional in March 2023 and won his first ITF title a week later — a $15k in Rovinj, without dropping a set. A home wildcard at Umag in 2024 brought his first ATP Tour main-draw win, over Enzo Couacaud, and in July 2025 he came through qualifying to take the Trieste Challenger, a title that moved him more than 120 places to No. 246. He added two Challenger doubles trophies with Nino Serdarušić that same summer, made his Davis Cup debut for Croatia in February 2026, and reached a career-high No. 199 in March.
"I started the year not so well, I had a few first-round losses" — after winning the Como Lake Challenger; via Tennis TourTalk, 7 September 2026
Then came the European clay summer that rewrote his ranking. He was runner-up in Trieste in July (losing to Hugo Dellien), a semi-finalist in Hamburg in August, and on 6 September he won the Como Lake Challenger — beating Mili Poljičak, Henry Bernet, Max Schoenhaus and Johan Nikles before seeing off former Roland Garros quarter-finalist Juan Pablo Varillas 6–3, 7–6(5) with 10 aces and 85% of first-serve points won. He backed it up immediately with a semi-final in Genoa. The two weeks were worth 83 ranking places: No. 254 to a career-high No. 171, and fifth among Croatian men.
"I would like to be inside the Top 100 for next year."
ON HIS GOALS AFTER THE COMO TITLE · VIA TENNIS TOURTALK, SEP 2026"I'm just trying to enjoy every match, stay mentally fresh and stay injury-free."
COMO LAKE CHALLENGER · VIA TENNIS TOURTALK, SEP 2026