"Notice that my game is slowly coming back" - Borna Coric wins in Parma
Borna Coric has returned to the professional tour with a notable success and won his first title in four years.
by Florian Army from Parma
last edit: Jun 20, 2022, 10:10 am
At the Emilia-Romagna Tennis Cup, which is worth 134,920 euros, the 25-year-old Croatian defeated the unseeded Swede Elias Ymer in a heated battle on Sunday afternoon
Coric, who only returned to the circuit in March after an injury break of almost a year and subsequent surgery on his right shoulder, started the ATP Challenger tournament in Montechiarugolo-Parma with a wildcard. With partly hard-fought victories over the local heroes Franco Agamenone, Flavio Cobolli and Giulio Zeppieri as well as the number two seeded Serb Dusan Lajovic, the former number 12 in the world rankings has made it into the final.
There, Coric still needed a full 90 minutes to bag the first round in the tie-breaker. Afterwards, the 255th in the world rankings really picked up speed. In the end, after just over two hours of play, it was 7:6(4), 6:0 to Coric.
Without great expectations to triumph
"The first set was perhaps the hardest I've ever played," Coric said afterwards. "I was a little happy at the end, but I served well and took my chances. All in all I'm very happy with the week here as I came to Parma without high expectations. I haven't been able to get my best tennis in the last few months. That's why I'm super happy to have won another tournament. That will give me confidence.”
Coric's last triumph was exactly four years ago, when he won his biggest title to date at the lawn tournament in Halle, Westphalia. In the 2018 final, the man from Zagreb defeated none other than the "Swiss Maestro" Roger Federer.
The shape curve is pointing up
"I feel that my game is slowly coming back, but I will still need time," explained Coric. “But I showed that I can still play very good tennis. In addition, my shoulder holds the serve. Now the next step is to be able to act completely pain-free. That's the most important."
With his third success overall on the ATP Challenger Tour, the first since 2015 in Barranquilla, Colombia, Coric collected 18,290 euros in prize money and valuable 125 points for the world rankings.
However, he did not have time to celebrate his victory. "We're going home today," says Coric. His path is clear: keep working hard, with the goal of making it back to the top of the world firmly in sight.