Borna Coric defeated fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (0), 6-2 to win the ATP Cincinnati Masters and grow to be the lowest-ranked participant to ever raise a Masters trophy.
Coric changed 143rd-ranked Spaniard Roberto Carretero, the 1996 Hamburg champion, because the lowest-rated Masters’ trophy lifter.
The title was the third of Coric’s profession however his first since 2018 and can see him soar up the rankings to world quantity 29 on Monday and seeded on the US Open.
“I have no words, to be honest. It’s just an unbelievable feeling,” the winner stated. “I’m just gonna enjoy this.
“I assumed I might play properly. I used to be coaching arduous, and I knew I might play good tennis, however to play this degree of tennis – I used to be simply not conscious.
“I’m just super happy, obviously.”.
Coric misplaced his solely earlier ultimate at this degree, taking place to Novak Djokovic in Shanghai 4 years in the past.
“It’s been very stressful for my body this whole week,” the Croat stated. “I came into the tournament with many, many (training) sessions.
“I performed 5 matches now in a row. So I have to relaxation for a few days. I have to recuperate and simply prepare for the US Open.”
Coric came back from an early deficit, trailing Tsitsipas 4-1 before turning the corner and sweeping the tiebreaker to love.
“I realised that I wanted to be extra aggressive,” Coric said. “He’s an unbelievable participant, and he isn’t gonna miss on my strong balls.
“I said to myself, ‘I have nothing to lose. If I continue like this, I’m going to lose anyway, for sure.’
“He was additionally enjoying very, very properly, placing the strain on me.”
“You’ve kicked my ass the final couple of occasions,” Tsitsipas said to Coric at the trophy ceremony.
Then he praised Coric’s title run at Cincinnati, which included victories over Rafael Nadal, Britain’s Cameron Norrie and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime.
“You’ve proved your self over and over,” Tsitsipas said.
“It was an unbelievable comeback from harm. You are proving that you’re up there with us.”
Tsitsipas said he is still seeking a first title on outdoor hardcourt losing six finals played on cement.
“It type of sucks,” the Greek said.
“I nonetheless hope to come back again right here and win it sooner or later. “I was definitely not choking — I just played robots every time in finals.”
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