Coric Upsets Thiem To Seal Tie For Croatia
Borna Coric lost his final six matches of 2019, but the way he broke that streak on Saturday makes that seem like a distant memory.
The former World No. 12 found some of his best tennis to outduel Dominic Thiem in Sydney in an enthralling baseline battle, defeating the Austrian No. 1 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 to seal Croatia's tie against Austria in Group E play at the inaugural ATP Cup.
"[I'm] very happy," Coric said. "I was not coming into this match with lots of confidence, playing great. I honestly didn't know what to expect, if I'm going to play good or not. But I was playing really good tennis. Even though [I lost] the second set, I felt I was playing good tennis, honestly. It's just that he was playing too good. And then in the third set, I just found that on important points I was playing really brave, and in the end it paid off."
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As the night wore on, the fans only got louder, with both players motioning to the crowd to make some noise after sensational shots.
"It was great. Really, I was really shocked how many people are there. It's midnight now," Coric said. "Here in Sydney, we also have many Croatians here and obviously they were giving me support. I really felt it, and in the end I needed it also because at the end I was really struggling."
Thiem walked into Ken Rosewall Arena owning a three-match winning streak against his 23-year-old opponent, and he finished 2019 in better form, reaching the championship match of the Nitto ATP Finals. But Coric showed no fear of engaging with the physical game style of the Austrian. As the match continued, it was the Croat who was not only the steadier player, but more aggressive, coming into net to finish off points while under pressure.
The World No. 4 never stopped fighting, earning six break points in the deciding set, crushing some incredible shots against the speedy Croat. But Coric remained calm, staving off all those opportunities and thrusting his arms in celebration towards Croatia's Team Zone after two hours and 43 minutes when Thiem launched a backhand long.
Coric has now won two of his five matches against Thiem, and his win against the Austrian is his 12th against the Top 10. He did not earn a Top 10 victory (0-3) in 2019.
In the tie's first singles match, former World No. 3 Marin Cilic was in danger of falling victim to the upset bug. But the 18-time tour-level titlist battled hard for his country, riding his experience to a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 victory against Dennis Novak.
"[I'm] very excited. It was absolutely very difficult. Dennis played a great level. It was our first meeting, and it was absolutely a thriller and difficult match... and also a great match to start the year," Cilic said. "I think the level was really, really good."
Cilic, whose FedEx ATP Ranking of No. 39 is his lowest since October 2013, lost the first set. But the Croat relied on his serve to turn the tide against the World No. 108, winning all 16 of his service games en route to his first triumph of the season.
"I think everyone who can deal with the nerves, everyone is going to be playing their better selves on the court. You have your team captain behind you. You have your teammates. They can definitely give you big support. You are feeling that responsibility on the court as well that you want to push, you want to fight, even when you are in some difficult situations," Cilic said. "When I was a set down, they were encouraging me, and then you also don't want to disappoint them."
After two hours and 27 minutes, Cilic struck his 15th ace of the match, crushing an untouched delivery in the ad court down the T before turning to Croatia's Team Zone with his left fist in the air.
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Novak received plenty of valuable instruction throughout the match from Austrian captain Thomas Muster, the former World No. 1. But once Cilic got into a rhythm of finding a way to take the first aggressive strike in rallies, Novak was unable to put the match on his racquet, especially during Cilic's service games. There were also plenty of cat-and-mouse points as the match — a high-quality affair — wore on.
Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic finished off a 3-0 Croatia victory in the tie by defeating Oliver Marach and Jurgen Melzer 7-6(4), 6-2. Dodig and Mektic are not full-time partners like Marach and Melzer are, but they clicked well, breaking serve three times in their one-hour, 30-minute victory.