Borna Again

Since undergoing surgery in May 2021, Borna Coric has become accustomed to dedicating extra time to working on his shoulder, a process that is crucial to allowing him to produce his best on the ATP Tour.

"If I want to do my job, which is to play tennis, I need to do this,” said Coric, who defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to clinch an emotional maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open on Sunday. “I don’t think it’s a huge sacrifice… You get to do what you love, it’s not a huge deal.”

Coric only returned to competitive action in March after a year out, but his hard work certainly paid off this week in Cincinnati, where the World No. 152 became the lowest-ranked champion in tournament history. The 25-year-old’s run included victories against Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Cameron Norrie, a stunning return to form that propels him 123 spots to No. 29 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

“I have no words, to be honest. It's just unbelievable feeling,” said the Croatian after his 7-6(0), 6-2 victory against Tsitsipas. “Like I said many times, I [am] just going to enjoy this. I thought I could play well. I was training hard, and I knew I could play good tennis, but that I could play this level tennis, I was just not aware. I'm just super happy.”