The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, 36, had a merciless defeat against the Croatian player Borna Coric,25, on Wednesday.
After a hard-fought battle, with a narrow margin, Borna Coric defeated Rafael Nadal, spoiling Nadal’s highly anticipated return to the ATP Cincinnati Masters after five long years.
Rafael Nadal’s 3 Month Wait Was Ruined By Borna Coric!
After the shocking defeat, Nadal confronted the reporters and said that he will have to practice harder for a better return. He further added that Coric played much better than him and thus the tournament was a difficult one.
At the same time, Coric continuously fought for 2 hours and 51 minutes and locked his most significant win in the face of Nadal fans.
The 36-year-old had previously bragged about winning the match on Wednesday stating that the win would be worth it when he returns from an injury, which he had while he played the Wimbledon semi-final against Nick Kyrgios.
Nadal opened the season with 20 wins in a row after holding three titles under his belt but probably would head into the US opening only after playing one more summer headcount match. It would presumably pay well for Nadal’s comeback as he has previously won four times in New York- two Wimbledon and two Australian.
Nadal would be joined by a few more players including Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Carloz Alcaraz.
The opening of the game was power packed with the Spaniard being comparatively stronger than the actual winner who stole the game by the evening. The effortless backhand kick of Nadal can however not be unseen and he was also sharp in not slipping until the seventh game.
Coric made amends on his third set point when Nadal double-faulted on him after an inelegant shot.
However, Nadal, with his head kept straight, made a final statement before leaving the stadium, where he promised a victory by extending his final game. As for the next round, Nadal would play with Roberto Bautista Agut, who won a victory against Marcos Giron earlier on Wednesday.
The 22-time Grand Slam Champion had to pause his sport for nearly an hour and a half when it was interrupted by rain at night. Once resumed, the player duo struggled to maintain the pace.
As for Coric, he literally finished off the game in just three hours after Nadal himself paved the way to his triumph since he was broken on a forehand wide trail. Usually, Nadal’s forehand shot is phenomenal as he often hits the ball with extreme spin, wearing down his opponents.
Nadal, who missed his two set points, had to save two set points for his opponent, Coric additionally. However, on the third try, Nadal handed over the set with a double fault after shedding sweat for an hour and a half on the court.
Referring to the two missed set points, Nadal then said that it was too unlikely of him to miss such easy set points twice, denoting his terrible play on the court. He was totally upset after the match since he missed a couple of chances in the tiebreaker.
Thanks to the unplanned break he received on the second set of the seventh game, which enabled him to square the match within the next 75 minutes.
ATP has ranked Nadal in its 5th rank after Medvedev, Zverev, Alcaraz Garcia, and Ruud, whereas Coric is seen nowhere near the Spaniard currently. Previously Coric was ranked number 12 after earning victories against top-notch five opponents before he missed a whole year after the surgery. He is currently spotted climbing the ladder of success all over again.
Coric, holding the 5-4 ATP Head2Head lead against Nadal after the match said that it would be a very interesting match to play as he would return for the next round with a higher intensity and aggression since he had initially commenced the match remarkably earlier and finished very late.
Similar to Nadal, the opportunity was equally big and special for Coric, who also underwent shoulder surgery in 2021. It took him almost two years to return to the main stage, which he made use of to the fullest of his potential by defeating a massive player like Nadal within a couple of hours.
When he spoke to the media, the Wednesday champion said that he was looking forward to the match and said that his excitement seemed more like his craziness.
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