SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER!
 
 
Facebook Social Button Twitter Social Button Follow Us on InstagramYouTube Social Button
NewsScoresRankingsLucky Letcord PodcastShopPro GearPickleballGear Sale


By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, May 11, 2017

 
Borna Coric

Borna Coric outclassed world No. 1 Andy Murray, 6-3, 6-3, becoming the first lucky loser in history to reach the Madrid quarterfinals.

Photo credit: Mutua Madrid Open

The lucky loser pulled off a major Madrid win.

Competing with confidence and hitting with penetrating depth, Borna Coric outclassed world No. 1 Andy Murray, 6-3, 6-3, becoming the first lucky loser in history to reach the Mutua Madrid Open quarterfinals.

Watch: Djokovic Bursts Into Madrid Quarterfinal vs. Nishikori

"It's a huge win, for sure. It's going to mean to me a lot," Coric told the media in Madrid. "Also regarding my confidence, which is very important in tennis, obviously, and especially when you are a player like me. So the confidence does play I would say a very big role in my tennis.

"Also it's going to help me in my ranking. It's always easier when you're a little bit higher in the ranking. I don't know where this is going to put me exactly, but for sure I'm going to be a little bit higher. I can play now a little bit more, let's say, free."

Given Murray’s recent struggles with form and a cranky elbow and the fact Coric had beaten the top seed previously in Dubai, it’s not a complete shock the 20-year-old Croatian pulled off the upset.

Coric’s command of the Wimbledon champion was surprising.



Pinning the 2015 champion behind the baseline, Coric effectively changed the height of his shot combinations denying Murray much rhythm. Coric broke Murray three times in a row to seize a one-set lead.

A listless Murray couldn't find any answers.

"Most things weren't working particularly well," Murray said. "Wasn't great. I mean, I started the match okay, but when I started to go behind, I didn't find any way to improve my game or to make it more difficult for him.

"I just kind of let the same things keep happening, making mistakes very early in a lot of the rallies. I wasn't building any points really."

Recognizing the two-time champion was erratic and unsettled, Coric said his aim was to play consistent, "boring" tennis.

"I didn't play anything special with my tactics," Coric said. "I was trying to be very boring. I was trying to making a very lot of balls, you know, just to stay with him and to try to get some errors from him.

"Obviously he didn't play very good today. That was very obvious. I have noticed it from the beginning. That's even more when I said, I'm going to make even more balls, I'm going to make him play, just see what's going to happen."

A frustrated Murray spent down time between games smirking at his support box and smacking his racquet off the bottom of his shoes as if trying to shake some urgency into his game.

A focused Coric produced some debilitating combinations playing much of the match on his terms.

Sometimes, the world No. 59 played heavy topspin that bounded shoulder high and other times he stepped up and cranked flat strikes down the line. When Murray tried switching it up by attacking net, he got burned by some timely passes.




Pounding away at the Scot’s second serve as if it were a piΓ±ata, Coric won eight of nine points played on Murray’s second serve and broke three times cruising to a one-set lead.

Both men fought off break points in the early stages of the second set. Then Coric broke down his opponent’s backhand.

Murray badly butchered a backhand rally shot three feet wide falling into triple break point in the eighth game.

A calm Coric straddled the baseline and challenged the Scot’s typically reliable two-hander. In a backhand to backhand exchange, Coric kept banging away drawing an errant reply to confirm a love break for 5-3.

Serving for the match, Coric patiently pounded through a 24-shot backhand exchange when Murray’s two-hander clipped the top of the tape and fluttered wide. An inside-out forehand followed by another heavy topspin forehand brought Coric to double match point.




Continuing to drive the ball deep, Coric barely missed the baseline with a forehand on his first match point. On his second, he displaced Murray with a kick serve out wide caressing a beautiful backhand drop shot that Murray could not control.

For Murray, it was a case of deja vu.

"It actually felt quite similar to the match I played against him in Dubai," Murray said. "You know, he serves well. He moves extremely well. You know, he never gives matches away. He makes a lot of shots. He's very consistent."

Thrusting his arms in triumph, Coric threw a hearty fist pump beating Murray for the second time in four meetings and raising his career record against Top 10 opponents to 5-15.



Coric, who lost to Mikhail Kukushkin in the final round of qualifying, will face eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem for a semifinal spot.

Exhibiting toughness under pressure, Thiem fought off five match points roaring back from 3-6 down in the decisive tiebreak to edge 12th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (11). Thiem roared back from a set and a break down and later a break down in the final set.

It was an explosive day for young guns.

Alexander Zverev roared back from a double break down dispatching sometime practice partner Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a quarterfinal with either Benoit Paire or Pablo Cuevas


 

Latest News