‘I Have No Words’: Coric’s Courageous Climb To His Greatest Heights

When Borna Coric arrived at the Western & Southern Open, the Croatian had every reason to be pessimistic. In May 2021, he underwent right shoulder surgery, which kept him out longer than expected. This week he was No. 152 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings and just 4-8 in tour-level matches on the year. The former World No. 12 had a long way to go before reaching the peak that once saw him earn nine wins against Top 5 opponents.

Everything about Coric’s job is harder now, too. The Croatian has to spend anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes working on his shoulder each day to maintain it.

“If I want to do my job, which is to play tennis, I need to do this, otherwise I cannot play tennis. I don’t think it’s a huge sacrifice to have an extra 30 minutes of work to get to play tennis,” Coric told ATPTour.com earlier in the week. “You get to do what you love, it’s not a huge deal. If I usually come one hour before practice, now I need to come one and a half hours. That’s it. It’s not a big deal.”

When Coric said that Tuesday following his first-round win in Cincinnati against Lorenzo Musetti, he was preparing to face 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion Rafael Nadal. Advancing seemed unlikely, but it was clear his mind was in the right place.

Little did the Croatian know that five days later, he would lift his first Masters 1000 trophy. Coric completed a dream run in Ohio on Sunday when he defeated fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(0), 6-2 for the biggest title of his career.

“I have no words, to be honest. It’s just unbelievable feeling. Like I said many times, I [am] just going to enjoy this,” Coric said. “I thought I could play well. 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. I’m just super happy.”

Just one week ago, Coric lost his first-round match against Marin Cilic in Montreal in lopsided fashion, 3-6, 2-6. You would not have been able to tell based on his attitude in Cincinnati.

Coric was in good spirits and although he entered his second-round clash as the heavy underdog against Nadal, he was excited for the opportunity. The 25-year-old said he would play the match “without any pressure”.

That mindset worked through the week. After losing one set against Nadal, Coric stormed through the field without dropping another. He defeated Musetti, Nadal, Roberto Bautista Agut, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie and Tsitsipas, all of whom are inside the Top 35 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“I believe always in myself. But again, [it was unlikely] to win the tournament when last week I was really playing poorly,” Coric said. “I didn’t believe I’m going to win the tournament.”

When Coric followed his stunning win against Nadal by ousting Bautista Agut, it was the first time he had won three consecutive tour-level matches since his shoulder surgery. But the Croatian did not get ahead of himself.

“I knew I needed to stay calm. I needed to do my recovery and to stay fresh, basically, because that’s most important. And I think that’s what I did,” Coric said. “But I think I kind of learned that the hard way, because I was doing those mistakes when I was younger where I would beat some good players, and then I would just go in the holiday mode.”

Coric took it one day at a time, one match at a time. His struggles helped him appreciate what he has. It is safe to say the Croatian will cherish this moment for years to come.

“I was just believing that I can win the next match,” Coric said. “That’s what I did for [six] days in a row.”

Did You Know?
Coric will climb 123 places in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings to No. 29.