Kyle Edmund, UK’s highest ranked tennis player, is one of the favorites to claim the title at this year’s Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, not just because of his ATP ranking but also because he favors clay courts, which is quite unusual for the British players. So far, Kyle has had quite a successful year and will try to do even better here in Umag. His semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, and reaching the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Madrid and the final in Marrakech have catapulted him to no. 17 in the world and given him the status of UK’s best ranked player.

Title defender Andrey Rublev is also coming back to Umag. Just twelve months ago, he became one of the most unlikely tournament champions in the history of Plava Laguna Croatia Open seeing as he claimed the title as the so-called lucky loser. That was young Moscow-native’s first ATP title in his career. This year, he continued his great run by reaching the final in Doha, third round of the Australian Open and another two quarterfinals on the Tour.

Damir Džumhur is yet another one of those players that we will certainly find interesting and fun to watch on the courts in Umag. Last year in Saint Petersburg, this fiery representative of Bosnia and Herzegovina made history when he won not only his first ATP title ever but also his country’s. He then won a tournament in Moscow and became the first player to win both ATP events in Russia in a single year.

Marco Cecchinato, the sensational Italian who is scheduled to play against Dominic Thiem this Friday in the final of Roland Garros, will be another guest magnet. Until Paris earlier this year, Cecchinato had never won a Grand Slam match in his career; however, he is currently in top condition, winning his career-first ATP title in Budapest. Here in Umag, he will be defending the colors of Italy, alongside experienced countrymen Seppi and Lorenzi, the latter being last year’s finalist.

Serbia’s Davis Cup team members Krajinović and Lajović, Germany’s latest star Maximilian Marterer, and France’s attention-grabber Benoit Paire, among others, conclude the list of great players who will be competing in Umag this year.

Two of the three invitations to the main draw have already been given to Croatia’s own players. One is Nino Serdarušić, a talented 21-year-old who recently broke into the Top 200 and reached his career-first Challenger final in Ostrava. The other is Franko Škugor, an experienced Davis Cup team member. This year, Škugor survived the qualifiers and reached the first round of the ATP tournament in Delray Beach, eventually losing in a tight match to Australian Open’s semifinalist Hyeong Chung.

Exhibition matches – a tradition and trademark of Umag
The tradition that started with the 25th anniversary edition quickly became an integral and especially attractive part of the tournament that gives its own special touch to the program and treats the audience to an evening of laughter and entertainment. This year will be no different, as on Saturday, July 14, the court will be taken over by great friends and tennis stars, Goran Ivanišević and Mansour Bahrami. Seeing as these two tennis legends are known for making a special and spectacular show of all their exhibition matches, it will most certainly be a unique treat at this year’s tournament. 

More details about the exhibition can be found here.

Ten-day music extravaganza
Alongside top-quality competition and exhibition matches, the visitors of this year’s tournament can expect an excellent party program as well: the Dance Arena stage will be taken over by the most famous names of the Croatian and regional music scene and world-famous DJs. Party Nights will kick off on July 14 with a spectacular concert by Petar Grašo, who will be performing his greatest hits so far. On July 15, Slovenia’s famous Mambo Kings will make the arena dance until late in the night, while a day later, the stage will be taken over by the legendary Croatian band Prljavo Kazalište. On July 17, the visitors will be entertained by Jelena Rozga and Željko Samardžić. As of July 18, the stage will belong to world famous DJs, who will reward the fans of EDM with an enviable music repertoire. The first one to perform, on July 18, will be the famous Australian DJ Timmy Trumpet. He will be followed by DJ Quintin on July 19, and Michael Feiner on July 20, while Rudeejay and DJ Mike Candys will perform on July 21. The last evening of the tournament is reserved for the Istrian musician Goran Griff, who will close the 29th edition of the tournament together with his Zucchero Tribute Band. 

Full tournament program can be found here.

Istria Gourmet Festival to feature Michelin-recommended restaurants
For nine years, Istria Gourmet Festival has been an integral part of Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag. This year, the visitors will be able to experience a true gourmet pleasure by tasting the richness of the Istrian delicacies and its fine wines on as many as 10 tasting stands.Chef Damir Modrušan of the Michelin-recommended Zigante Restaurant will present his dishes based on Istrian truffles, and Naša Kužina will showcase its dishes under the expert guidance of Zdravko Tomšić. This year, these select restaurants featured at the Istria Gourmet Festival will also be joined by the popular Rougemarin and Marin Medak. Foodies will certainly love the Michelin stand, which will showcase the following Michelin-recommended restaurants: Pergola with chef Fabricio Vežnaver, Badi with chef Aleksandar Grubić, and San Rocco. Moreover, the visitors of the Taste Istria Zone will be able to taste 11 of the total of 16 Istrian wines made by Michelin-recommended winemakers. Finally, as part of the Hidden Charms of the Istrian Wines program, every evening for the duration of the tournament, the visitors will be able to rate and select the best wines, one of which will go on to claim the title of the ATP Wine for this year. 

Istria Gourmet Festival program can be found here.