Borna supremacy: Coric caps improbable Western & Southern Open run with title
MASON, Ohio ‒ Pretty quickly into Sunday's match, Borna Coric found himself on the wrong side of the score, down 4-1, when the Croatian did what he's done all week at the Western & Southern Open.
He battled.
And because of that, Coric made tournament history with a 7-6 (0), 6-2 win over No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the men's singles final ‒ Coric's first W&S Open title and his fifth win of the week over a player ranked inside the ATP's top 20.
"I think I just realized that I need to be more aggressive," Coric said after falling behind early. "I said to myself, I have nothing to lose. If I continue like this, I'm going to lose anyway, for sure."
After the match, Tsitsipas said, "The less he misses, the more he makes your life difficult."
Coric didn't miss much on Sunday. He served well, hit winning shots and on the really long points that seemed to never end, he never lost focus.
"I thought I could play well," Coric said. "I was training hard, and I knew I could play good tennis, but that I could play this level tennis, I was just not aware."
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Improbable doesn't seem to adequately describe Coric's visit to the Queen City.
He came to Cincinnati ranked No. 152 and he leaves as the lowest-ranked player to ever win an ATP Masters 1000 title. Leaving Cincinnati, Coric's new ATP ranking is No. 29.
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In less than a week, Coric beat Tsitsipas, Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Roberto Bautista Agut.
The W&S Open is Coric's third ATP Tour title, and while he always believes in himself, he didn't come to Cincinnati believing he was going to win.
"I didn't believe I'm gonna win the tournament," Coric said. "I was not really focused on, I didn't know -- I think when I beat Musetti (in the first round), I came to locker room and I asked my coach, Who do I play next? I never look, you know, too much forward.
"But in the first couple of rounds, I'm not really focused on the next round. I'm always focused on the round which I'm playing right now. I was just believing that I can win the next match. That's what I did for five days in a row," he smiled.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Borna supremacy: Coric caps improbable W&S Open run with title
