ATP Tour

Pavic on road to 500 wins: 'I always had a feeling for the game'

While some players grow into the game of doubles, Mate Pavic seemed born for it.

The 31-year-old Croatian claimed his 500th tour-level win on Tuesday at Wimbledon, where he powered into the semi-finals with partner Marcelo Arevalo. Now with 42 titles and still atop the PIF ATP Doubles Rankings, Pavic appears to be at the very height of his powers.

“Since I was young, I always played good doubles. I guess I just had a feeling for the game,” Pavic told ATPTour.com at Wimbledon. “I still today believe that there are some things on the court that you can’t learn. Either you have it or you don’t… To feel the game, to position yourself, to react to certain things… I guess I had it all along. I guess I proved it, and it’s been at a pretty good level for years now.”

Labelling it ‘pretty good’ might be an understatement. Pavic first reached No. 1 in 2018 and his career since has been a model of sustained excellence. Now, seven years later, he’s back at the top with Arevalo, fresh off another standout season.

Their breakthrough came last year at Roland Garros, where Pavic became just the sixth man in the Open Era to complete the Golden Slam in doubles — winning all four majors and Olympic gold. The pair then stormed to claim ATP Year-End Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours, a fitting capstone to a dominant campaign.

“It means a lot,” Pavic said of his achievements. “It says something about me and the level that I have kept for years now. I’m proud of that. I’m also still pretty young… Once I step back and think about it, I realise I’m still one of the youngest on the Tour basically and I already achieved this much: 500 wins, all the Slams, Olympics.

“If I stopped tomorrow, I would say it’s an amazing career, but there’s still a couple of good years in me to play at the top level. From now on, I find everything a bonus. Whatever I win, I’m just trying to enjoy it in a different way.”

That mindset, one of perspective and gratitude, might be one reason for his sustained success. But another hallmark of Pavic’s rise has been his adaptability.

He won his first tour-level title in Nice in 2015 with Michael Venus and has since claimed trophies with nine different partners — a testament to his ability to adjust and thrive in any pairing.

“I have always managed to adapt,” said Pavic. “That’s one of the things that I have. I always had a weapon in my game, no matter who was my partner, because every partner brings something different. I played with different game styles, and they have all worked. I guess it’s not a problem for me to adapt.”

_{^{Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic claim the ATP Year-End Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours. Photo: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}

In 2023, Pavic was tested like never before. A shoulder injury disrupted his season, and results faltered alongside countryman and then-partner Nikola Mektic. He finished the year as the World No. 32, but 2024 brought a fresh start, and a powerful new partnership with Arevalo.

“That was probably my worst year,” Pavic said of 2023. “It was challenging, but I overcame it and in 2024, I started playing with Marcelo. We had a few months to get to know each other on the court, but then we had an amazing year. We finished No. 1 and won the French Open.”

Their momentum carried into 2025. In March, Pavic and Arevalo became just the sixth team in history to complete the ‘Sunshine Double’, winning back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Their chemistry has become a key part of their success.

“It is a good balance,” said Pavic. “He needs his energy and what he brings to the court, otherwise he’s not the same player. I’m the same, I need to be in the zone. We both also have different game styles, but it’s a good thing, because you complement each other on the court.”

Pavic now boasts a 500-423 tour-level record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and despite all he’s accomplished, the hunger remains.

“The French Open was something really special, it was something I was missing,” Pavic said of his 2024 triumph in Paris. “I lost two finals there before that, so winning with Marcelo was really a weight off the shoulders. Now it’s all complete, but I’ve never won the Nitto ATP Finals, I also lost two finals there, so there are always goals that you can find and that can motivate you. You always need something new to keep motivating yourself.”