MADRID: Croatian underdog Borna Coric has rocked the entire men’s draw at the Madrid Open after knocking out a Sluggish Andy Murray 6-3, 6-3, in the third round.
The top seed struggled to gain his consistency throughout the entire match as Coric relished in the atmosphere. The sharp hitting of the rising star proved too much for the Brit, who appeared lost about what to do. Murray’s woeful 35% second service rate was punished heavily by the world No.59, who converted four out of his five break point chances.
Part of Murray’s downfall was his unforced error count of 28, which was almost evenly distributed between his forehand and backhand. Coric also had a high error count of 21, but crucially hit seven fewer winner the top seed.
“Most things weren’t working particularly well. It wasn’t great. I started the match okay, but when I started to go behind, I didn’t find any way to improve my game or to make it more difficult for him. I just kind of let the same things keep happening, making mistakes very early in a lot of the rallies. I wasn’t building any points really.” A disappointed Murray said.
The unexpected exit occurs during what has been a testing part of the season for Murray. An elbow Injury sidelined him from the Miami Masters and Madrid is the third consecutive clay-court tournament has has failed to reach the final at. Numerous theories have formed over the reason behind the Brits latest downfall, but Murray himself believes he is physically fit.
“I’m not tired. I think today mentally I definitely could have been better. It wasn’t until almost the last game where I said, Okay, I’m going to try(a new tactic), and I stood way back behind the baseline.”
Friday’s defeat is a case of Deja Vu. At the 2015 Dubai Open, Murray slumped to a straight sets loss at the hands of Coric. In a uncanny coincidence, the Croat was also a lucky loser in that draw.
“It actually felt quite similar to the match I played against him in Dubai. He serves well. He moves extremely well. He never gives matches away. He makes a lot of shots. He’s very consistent.” The Brit said of the 20-year-old.
‘A huge win’
Coric’s shock triumph has created history sat the Madrid Open. He is the first lucky loser to progress to the last eight, where he will play either Grigor Dimitrov or Dominic Thiem. The scalp occurs just two days after the 20-year-old told Ubitennis that he was seeking improvement in his game.
“I think I need to improve basically every part of my game.” He admitted. “Especially forehand and also the backhand is sometimes lacking consistency as well. I think every part of the game I see where I can improve and how I can improve, I just need some time.”
The desire for improvement is moving Coric to a higher level in his tennis. Despite already defeating Murray on the tour, the Croat believed this time was more significant for him and his career.
“It’s a huge win, for sure. It’s going to mean to me a lot. Also, regarding my confidence, which is very important in tennis, obviously, and especially when you are a player like me.” Coric explained.
A key factor towards the surge of the youngest is his mentality. Unlike some players, he never considered himself as a top-50 player. Instead, he believes that it was luck that elevated him to 32nd in the world. It might come across as a brutal analysis, but one that could pay off.
“I’ve been doing really well as very young. Also, my expectations were very high, which was maybe not very realistic. I think at the moment when I was 32, I was not really 32. My tennis was for maybe 60 or 70. That’s my opinion. I was lucky. I was new on the tour. No one knew me. I had some luck. But, you know, that’s was not my real level.” He concluded.
