(Tennis news) The Croatian just dropped one set to the title as Borna Coric crowned a remarkable injury comeback when he captured his first ATP Masters 1000 title, overcoming the World no 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(0), 6-2 in the Western & Southern Open final. The Croatian was competing in his second tour-level final since 2020 as the first time he defeated Rafael Nadal to his second Masters 1000 final. With the pressure on Tsitsipas to win the title, Coric on the other hand demonstrated courage against the Greek, coming back from 1-4 in the first set, before he blitzed his way past in the second set to win the match in one hour and 57 minutes in Cincinnati.
Coric last year missed the majority of the season due to a shoulder injury and entered the Cincinnati draw sitting at No. 152 in the ATP Rankings. However after his maiden ATP 1000 trophy, he is up to No. 29 ATP Live Rankings. He has now improved his ATP Head2Head series against Tsitsipas to 2-1. Coric defeated Lorenzo Musetti, Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Cameron Norrie on the road to the final. The 25-year-old has now clinched three tour-level titles on all three surfaces, having previously won on clay in Marrakech in 2017 and on grass Halle in 2018. But this win stands out as this was his first ATP 1000 Crown which helped him climb 123 places in a span of 2 weeks in ATP rankings.
Coric in this tournament earned nine victories against Top 5 opponents and climbed to a career-high World No. 12. The Croatian made his comeback in Indian Wells in March and since then lost 8 of his 13 ATP tour matches in 2022 before his dream run in Cincinnati. Tsitsipas on the other hand was aiming to capture his third Masters 1000 title and 10th ATP trophy. The Greek, who has managed to retain the title in Monte Carlo in April, edged Daniil Medvedev in a hard-fought semi-final win as the 24-year-old has risen to second in the ATP Live Race To Turin and he looks to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for a fourth consecutive season. It is the same trophy he won on his debut in 2019.
“It was a very, very tough match. At the beginning I wasn’t playing very well and he was pushing me very hard. But I started to serve better and play better and I was fighting hard,” Coric said in his on-court interview. “Then in the second set I thought I played the best set of the whole year.”
“Thank you to my parents, who are not here, my sister and my team. It has been very tough for us,” Coric added during the trophy ceremony. “With my physio, if I didn’t have him I wouldn’t be on the court… Then of course to my tennis coach, Mate. We have been working very hard and now we are here.”
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