Borna Coric enjoyed the best season of his career ending the year ranked world number 12. The Croatian player won the Gerry Weber Open in Halle on grass, reached the semifinal at Indian Wells and his first Masters 1000 final in Shanghai and the Davis Cup title against France in Lille.
Coric beat Kevin Anderson in the tie-break of the third set in the third round before losing to Roger Federer in three sets in the semifinal. Coric reflected on his successful season in a very interesting interview to Italian sports channel Sky Sport.
“Indian Wells and Miami were the highlights. I went there without knowing what to expect. I had never played beyond the third round in Masters 1000 tournaments, but I played very good. I reached the semifinals. I was set up over Roger Federer and so that was a very experience. It was very painful but that’s tennis”,said Coric.
Coric beat number 3 seed Alexander Zverev and number 1 seed Federer en route to winning his second ATP Tour title in Halle.
“Winning the Gerry Weber Open over Roger Federer in the final was also special for me. I will never forget it”.
He also reached the quarter final in Dubai, in Miami (losing to Alexander Zverev) and Vienna. In Shanghai he beat number 4 seed Juan Martin Del Potro and number 2 seed Federer en route to reaching the first Masters 1000 final before losing to Novak Djokovic. The young Croatian player reached his first Grand Slam fourth round at the US Open before losing to eventual finalist Juan Martin Del Potro.
Coric fulfilled his dream to win the Davis Cup final in Lille, where he helped his team clinch the second Trophy in history with a victory over Jeremy Chardy.
“It was very special for us to win the Davis Cup. It was my childhood dream. Although I played away from home, I was nervous and I spoke a lot with my coach Riccardo Piatti who was there with me. I was so tense. In the end I played a very good tennis and also bringing the trophy back home, al the celebrartions was something unforgettable. It was one of the nicest experiences in my whole ife. It’s also nice that we were the last Davis Cup winners through the old format”.
“The last part of the season was also special with my first Masters 1000 final in Shanghai. I also have a very funny story because I came there and I wanted to retire from the first round, because my neck was blocked and I could not play. Even one hour before the match I still wanted to retire but I just wanted to retire, but I just went into the court with no expectations. I started playing very good and and I probably played the best tennis in my life”.
Coric believes that Roger Federer has a good chance to win a 21st Grand Slam title next year.
“I faced him a couple of times this year. Roger takes a break during the clay season and it gives the chance to rest. Seeing him at the age of 36 was fantastic. He played five sets and it was something special. I definitely see him in a race to win a Grand Slam. Wimbledon is obviously one ofhis favourite tournaments, so he may win there. Let’s see waht happens there. Alexander Zverev also showed us in the last season that he can play a very good tennis. Winning the ATP Finals is going to give him a huge confidence. That positive mindset for the Grand Slam which he needs”, said Coric.
Coric has been training for one year at the Tennis Academy under the guidance of Italian coach Riccardo Piatti. The 60-year-old Italian coach, who also guided Ivan Ljubicic and worked with Novak Djokovic in 2004 and 2005, thinks that Djokovic’s win over Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon was the key for the Serbian player.
“After the French Open Nove was angry because he wanted to have a different run. The amazing thing was his post Frenc Open interview. He did not want to play on grass. There I understood that he did not want to keep like this. Either he would have put things in order coming back to the old Nole, or he would either retire, which I did not think of. When he beat Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon, he understood he was the real Nole again, which is a problem for all the others. Looking ahead to the 2019 season a younger player will get closer to winning a Grand Slam. I hope it’s Borna. Our goal as a team is that Borna plays five, ten important matches a year. For us an important match is a Indian Wells semifinal or a Miami final. We work on such goals. Or the Davis Cup title, where he was playing to lose something. It allows him to grow, so I wish he has these chances”, said Riccardo Piatti.