Borna Coric reveals the crucial elements in his win over Nick Kyrgios
The 22-year-old Croat Borna Coric has won just six matches since the start of the season, suffering the second round loss at Indian Wells and heading to Miami determined to achieve a more prominent result. The last year's quarter-finalist has stayed in the title chase after a solid 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over the 27th seed Nick Kyrgios in an hour and 56 minutes for the sixth Masters 1000 last eight appearance. This was the second win for Borna in four matches against the Aussie, playing better and better as the encounter progressed and firing 35 winners and 14 unforced errors.
Kyrgios struggled to match those numbers, blasting 29 winners but also 26 unforced errors, losing ground in the mid-range exchanges and suffering three breaks in sets two and three to hit the exit door. The Croat moved in front with a break in game four when Nick sent a forehand long and the tables turned soon after that, with Kyrgios breaking back in the next game with a forehand down the line winner. Making too many errors, Coric lost serve once again at 4-4 when his backhand landed wide and Nick closed the opener with a service winner in game ten for a 6-4 after 42 minutes.
The 11th seed learned his lesson and it was all about him in the rest of the clash, dropping 13 points on serve in sets two and three and mounting the pressure on the other side of the net, waiting for a chance on the return patiently. Borna lost just five points in five service games in set number two and broke Nick in the sixth game when he forced an error from the Aussie to open a 4-2 lead. A service winner pushed Coric over the finish line in game nine and he grabbed the momentum before the decider where they stayed neck and neck in the opening four games.
A forehand winner sent the Croat ahead in the fifth game and he fended off three break points in the game that followed to cement the lead with four winners, moving closer to the finish line after another break in game seven when Nick received time violation to lose the point and the game. Serving for the win, Borna held at 15 in the eighth game for the 41st Masters 1000 victory and much-needed points, setting the quarter-final clash with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
"The important thing for me is that I stayed in the match, playing aggressively on break points and scoring that backhand down the line winner on one of those which proved to be crucial. I'm not a player who shows emotions on the court that often but when I do they are usually strong. That helped me to overcome the opening set where I had an early break and start playing better in the rest of the encounter. I started to read his serve better from the second set and his first serve percentage begun to go down, something that I used to make the difference.
Felix and I never played before and that's the new situation for me as I don't have a chance to play against the younger rivals that often I have to prepare well for that match. I didn't watch him that match so far and will have to prepare for the encounter the best I can."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2uvKqC5
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