Maiden Title Helps Coric Surge In Race To Milan

A career breakthrough vaulted Croatian Borna Coric up the Emirates ATP Race To Milan standings in April, and now the 20-year-old right-hander is close to challenging #NextGenATP star Alexander Zverev for the lead in the race to qualify for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 7-11 November in Milan.

On 3 April, Coric was in eighth place in the Race, 380 points behind Zverev. But a week later, the Zagreb native compiled the best week of his career at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech.

Coric won five consecutive matches in Morocco to celebrate his first ATP World Tour title, saving five match points in the final to beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5 in two hours and 38 minutes. Along the way, Coric prevailed past two other Top 40 players, including then-World No. 24 Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain and Argentine Diego Schwartzman, who reached a new career high of No. 34 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last month.

Coric became the third player from the current #NextGenATP contingent to lift an ATP World Tour trophy, joining Zverev (St. Petersburg 2016 & Montpellier 2017) and Russian Karen Khachanov (Chengdu 2016).

“It’s an awesome feeling. I didn’t know what to expect when I came here, and I wasn’t in the best shape. But I’ve been working very hard the past three or four months, and now it’s paying off,” Coric told ATPWorldTour.com. “I was focused in all the matches and didn’t lose my calm. I just played very well and served very well and that made it much easier for me.”

The next week, Coric struggled at the season’s first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament on clay, the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, falling to French veteran Jeremy Chardy in three sets. Last week, at the inaugural Gazprom Hungarian Open in Budapest, Coric also dropped his opener, losing to Czech left-hander Jiri Vesely.

But Coric is now in second place in the Emirates ATP Race To Milan. He has 435 points, 265 points behind Race leader Zverev, who has 700 points.

Coric said qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan remains one of his top goals for the season. “For sure it is,” he said. “I’m not sure if it will happen or not, but that’s a goal for sure. I need to continue to work hard.”

Read More: #NextGenATP Race Leader Zverev Has Massive March