Borna Coric won the ATP Cincinnati Masters on Sunday with a dominant performance against the fourth seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas. Coric had been out for an entire year due to a shoulder injury and just returned to competition in March.
The world number 152 tennis player from Croatia defeated the top-ranked player from Greece 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 to become the player with the lowest ranking to ever win a Masters tournament.
“To tell you the truth, I’m at a loss for words. It’s really an incredible sensation all around, “the winner had this to say. “I’m simply going to enjoy this.
“I believed that I could do well. I was putting in a lot of work in the gym, and I was aware that I could play OK tennis; yet, I had no idea that I was capable of playing tennis at this level.
Simply said, I couldn’t be happier right now “.
Coric’s lone other appearance in a final of this calibre ended in defeat at the hands of Novak Djokovic in Shanghai four years ago.
Coric surpassed the 143rd-ranked Spaniard Roberto Carretero, who had won the 1996 Hamburg tournament, to become the player with the lowest rating to ever hoist the Masters trophy on Sunday.
This whole week has been quite taxing on my physique due to the fact that “the Croat had this to say.
“Therefore, I need to get some sleep for the next several days. It’s important for me to rest up and get back in game shape before the US Open.”
Coric overcame an early disadvantage, falling behind Tsitsipas 4-1 before turning the turnaround and winning the tiebreaker to love in straight sets.
The Croat, who was cheered by a few spectators wearing the national colours, was able to change the momentum even more in his favour during the second set.
“I came to the realisation that I needed to be more forceful, “Coric stated.
“‘I have nothing to lose,'” I told myself at the time. If I keep acting in this manner, I will undoubtedly come out on the losing end.’
“Not only was he playing really well, but he was also putting the pressure on me.””
In a triumph that took two hours to complete, Coric notched seven aces and fought off three of four break opportunities.
Coric defeated Tsitsipas in a tiebreaker in the fifth set of their match at the US Open in the third round in 2020, bringing his overall record against Tsitsipas to 2-1. Their first match took place in Rome in 2018, when Coric withdrew from the match.
Then he lauded Coric for his journey to the triumph in Cincinnati, which featured victories over Rafael Nadal, Cameron Norrie of Britain, and Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada.
“You are demonstrating that you are on par with the rest of us.”
Tsitsipas has said that he has not yet won a championship on an outdoor hardcourt despite losing six finals that were played on cement.
Immediately after the conclusion of the trophy presentation, ominous skies brought torrential downpours to the region.
