#NextGenATP Coric Beats Home Hopeful In Marrakech

#NextGenATP player Borna Coric ended the run of local favourite Reda El Amrani on Wednesday, beating the Moroccan wild card 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5) at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech.

Coric, a finalist last year, saved eight of 11 break points and broke El Amrani four times in the two-hour and 42-minute victory. The 28-year-old El Amrani, No. 667 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, had reached the Marrakech quarter-finals in 2010 and was going for his second ATP World Tour win of the season. The right-hander advanced to the second round when defending champion Federico Delbonis of Argentina retired because of a left leg injury down 6-7(3), 0-1.

Coric will meet second seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the last eight. The Spaniard also needed three sets to avoid an upset, eliminating Serbian qualifier Laslo Djere 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes. Ramos-Vinolas won 70 per cent of his first-serve points and didn’t face a break point in the third set. The left-hander won his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Coric, at the Australian Open last year.

In first-round action, sixth seed Benoit Paire was blanked in the first set tie-break but came back to beat Argentine Carlos Berlocq 6-7(0), 6-3, 6-2. Fifth seed Paolo Lorenzi broke Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez three times to advance 7-6(4), 7-5.

In doubles, top seeds Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram didn’t face a break point and won 88 per cent of their service points (53/60) to advance past Spaniards David Marrero and Tommy Robredo 7-6(4), 7-5 in one hour and 16 minutes.

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