Three weeks ago at the Paris Masters in Bercy, Borna Coric traipsed off Court Central having suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of a rampant and focused Andy Murray. It took the Scot just 58 minutes to dismiss the young Croatian pretender and end his season with a frightful memory, however he has every reason to be optimistic about the future.
Coric, the highest positioned teenager in the ATP rankings at 44 in the world, has just enjoyed his first full campaign on the main circuit and his successful transition to the big league is why he appears destined to reach the upper echelons of the game.
Croatian Borna Coric On The Rise
The Croat is unlike many of his distinguished countrymen who have played the game: he does not have a prodigious serve like Ivo Karlovic or possess the net artistry of Goran Ivanisevic, and he perhaps lacks the puissance of Marin Cilic, but he does have a world class backhand and remarkable defensive skills.
The teenager’s form has understandably fluctuated throughout the year but he has bagged the circuit’s must-have latest accessory – a Swedish coach – in the form of the 2002 Australian Open winner, Thomas Johansson, and the collaboration has worked well.
In the last thirteen months, victories over Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray were headline-grabbing moments for the youngster however it was his ingrained self-belief and insatiable desire to be successful in both those high-profile matches that was most impressive. He was not perturbed by the reputation or prowess of his illustrious rivals and he ruthlessly took advantage of an out-of-sorts Spaniard and error-prone Scot to announce his arrival on the world stage.
Coric is still in the development phase of his chosen profession and there are areas of his game that require further work and tweaking. He needs to be more proactive from the baseline and his forehand requires some improvement however he does have the battling qualities necessary to take the next step.
He has a fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude that cannot be taught – which was apparent at Grand Slams this year – and he was on the right side of two epic five-set wins over wily veterans, Tommy ‘Iron Man’ Robredo and Sergiy Stakhovsky.
Despite suffering physically in both gruelling encounters, the tenacious Croatian overcame adversity and found a way to snatch unlikely victories where others may have subsided.
2016 will be another big year for Coric as he looks to continue his development and cement a place inside the top thirty. He is now an established member on the ATP circuit and no longer a surprise package so he will have to adjust accordingly, but the hard-working Croatian’s career is likely to continue on an upward trajectory and he will undoubtedly have silverware in his sights sooner rather than later.
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