With only a limited programme of four first round matches on Monday in Estori, it was Borna Coric, the 19 year old Croatian and sixth seed, who impressed the most. Coric defeated the Italian qualifier Andrea Arnaboldi 6-4 6-1 to move into the second round.
In some ways, it has been a difficult 9 months for Coric: his ranking has stubbornly stayed around 40, while expectations for him run ahead. However, he’s not yet 20 and so has more than enough time to develop: players on average break into the top 100 aged 25 these days.
On the evidence of today’s match against Arnaboldi, Coric’s journey towards the top 20 is mainly a matter of time. He was always in control of the match, breaking at the start of each set and facing only one break point himself when serving out the first set. The Croatian ran away with the second set, racing out to a 4-0 lead before breaking the Italian for victory. Coric reached the quarter finals here last year and, courtside after the match, described how Estoril felt like “a second home”, much like Split in his native Croatia. Tickets were sold out today, which Coric described as “unbelievable for a 250 event; it means a lot to us [players].”
More than the score, it was the manner of Coric’s victory that impressed. He hit his powerful forehand consistently deep taking the match out of the Italian’s hands. Arnaboldi was coming off a 2 hour 45 minute tussle the previous evening in qualification so it was understandable that he faded towards the end. Coric felt that he had played a “solid match” thank to “good preparation back at home” in Croatia.
Coric goes on to face the winner of Benjamin Becker and Rogerio Dutra Silva in round 2. However, it is a potential quarter final that most people have their eye on – a potential clash with fellow #NextGen star, Nick Kyrgios.
Portuguese wildcards did not have a great time of it today: both lost in straight sets. Leonardo Mayer, the seventh seed, defeated Pedro Sousa 6-1 6-4 in an untidy match, while Nicolas Almagro eased through 6-3 6-2 against Frederico Silva. In the other singles match of the day French qualifier Stephane Robert defeated Tomas Fabbiano 6-2 6-2.
