After Changes, Coric Looks Forward To Steady 2017

It’s almost as if Borna Coric has hit the reset button on his young career to start the 2017 ATP World Tour season. The 20-year-old Croatian is working with a new coach. He has changed racquet brands. The right-hander has his health back as well, following surgery on his right knee late last season.

It should all add up to an improved year for the Zagreb native, who had to cut short his 2016 campaign because of the knee surgery in early September. Physicians removed two small pieces of bone that had broken off and lodged inside a tendon in his right knee, Coric said.

He sat out from tennis for about two months, taking the court again on 10 December. But it’s been a slow recovery for the #NextGenATP player. Coric experienced pain in his shoulder and hip, and he underwent more rehab after his first-round loss to Alexandr Dolgopolov at the Australian Open last month.

“It was a tough comeback but now I’m more or less fine,” he told ATPWorldTour.com in Delray Beach.

You might expect a 20-year-old who’s already achieved impressive results – last year, at 19 years, 9 months, he became the youngest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 quarter-finalist since Novak Djokovic in 2006 – to be expecting instant results for his new-look 2017. But Coric, who was closing in on the Top 30 before his surgery, is approaching the season with the mindset of an ATP World Tour veteran.

“I have changed many things in my game… So I need some time to adapt,” he said.

Of the various changes, Borna Coric is perhaps most enthused about his coach, Ivica Ancic, whom Coric has known since he was 12. Ancic is the older brother and former coach of Mario Ancic, who reached No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and won three ATP World Tour titles but had to retire in 2011 because of health problems, including complications from mononucleosis.

Coric split with former coach Miles Maclagan in September, and he took seriously the task of finding a new coach. He had two phone conversations with Ancic and met with him one-on-one on two other occasions, chatting with Ancic for two hours each time.

“I think it’s important to meet the person who you’re going to travel with maybe the rest of your [career],” Coric said. “Obviously I felt like we’re going to click.”

The young Croatian has experienced a few coaching changes since turning pro in 2013. He has worked with Zeljko Krajan and Thomas Johansson. The changes haven’t been all bad, though. By working with different experts, Coric said, he’s learned about himself and what works for him on the court.

He’s looking forward to stability with Ancic. “It’s tough to change every six months because obviously every coach has maybe a different view on how you need to play and a different mentality,” Coric said.

He and Ancic are in agreement on the way forward for the right-hander who was on the cusp of winning his first ATP World Tour title twice last season. In January, Coric lost in the Aircel Chennai Open to Stan Wawrinka. Three months later, he fell to Federico Delbonis on the clay in Marrakech.

“I need to be more aggressive obviously than I was but then at the same point, I need to be careful to not be too aggressive,” Coric said. “If you only practise on attacking, you’re going to lose some part of your game, which is the defense, which is the best part of my game. So I need to be careful not to lose what I’m best at.

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“That’s the balance you need to find, which comes with matches, which obviously I’m trying to find now.”

He has found his rhythm at the Delray Beach Open, where Coric is making his debut. The Croatian breezed past Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-3, needing only 68 minutes to advance into the second round, where he’ll face top seed Milos Raonic. Coric feasted on Giraldo’s second serve, winning 71 per cent of those points (15/21).

Coric, No. 59 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, has never faced Raonic, who, at No. 4, is the highest-ranked player to participate in the Delray Beach tournament during its 25-year history. Win or lose, though, the Croatian is focused on the end game, what he hopes will be a long career on the ATP World Tour.

“That’s like with everything in life… There are ups and downs, obviously. I started playing better during the [U.S.] summer last year, then I got injured, which was unlucky. I was ranked maybe No. 40 and I didn’t have to defend almost any points. So I could have finished in the Top 30 maybe,” Coric said. “That’s tennis – ups and downs. Now starting the year I haven’t played for four months. I knew it was going to be tough to start. You just need to work your way up.”