Borna Coric stunned nine-time champion Roger Federer 7-6(6) 3-6 6-2 to claim the Halle title and his first of the season.
The match started with both players looking comfortable on serve as the Croatian introduced some of his big weapons to the match against Federer. There were very few break point opportunities created as both players dominated through their first serve as Federer started the match playing much better than his previous matches this week.
The top seed couldn’t convert the only break point of the set so the first set went to a tiebreak as the quality of the match increased to a new high. The Croatian made some gutsy forehands on big points as he saved two break points and edged the first set 7-6(6) in 58 minutes.
The second set saw Federer step up his game as he produced a backhand masterclass, causing Coric all kinds of problems. The world number one eventually earned the break in the eighth game of the set as he broke the Croatian to 15. The Croatian’s lack of concentration proved costly as Federer effortlessly closed out the second set to force a deciding set.
However the top seed looked fatigued and the world number 34 took full advantage of as he killed the momentum of the match stunning Federer with some big serves. Two consecutive breaks of serve towards the end of the set secured the match and a second career title for Coric.
The win is one of the biggest of Coric’s career as he continues his fantastic season, having won 24 matches this season. As for Federer he now loses his world number one and needs to fix the majority of his game, if he wants to retain his Wimbledon title in a couple of weeks time.
