The inaugural edition of ATP Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag was held in 1990, marking the beginning of what would become Croatia’s most significant annual sporting event.
The opening chapter is defined by the iconic final between Goran Ivanisevic and Goran Prpic - the only all-Croatian final in the tournament’s history and a symbolic starting point of modern Croatian tennis.
Ivanisevic and Prpic went on to secure Croatia’s first Olympic medals, further cementing the historical weight of that 1990 encounter.
In this edition of Umag Time Travel, we return to the 1996 final between Carlos Moya and Felix Mantilla, one of the defining matches of the tournament’s early years.
The 1996 edition brought together leading clay-court players and a rising generation, highlighted by Moya’s commanding victory that signaled the rise that would soon follow.
Through that final, we trace two career paths - Moya, who would go on to win Roland Garros and reach world No. 1, and Mantilla, whose story would be defined by his greatest victory - the fight for his life.
We return to 2012 and the tournament where Marin Cilic, without dropping a set, brought the Umag trophy back into Croatian hands after more than two decades.
At a tournament that had evolved into a blend of top-level tennis, lifestyle content and a summer festival atmosphere, the 2012 edition stood out as one of the most memorable, attracting numerous well-known names from the worlds of sport and music.
The final also gains additional weight through the later careers of its protagonists – Cilic would go on to win the US Open, while Granollers would become one of the defining doubles players of his generation.