Borna Coric beat fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to win his maiden Masters title at the ATP Cincinnati Masters, becoming the the lowest-ranked player to ever lift a Masters trophy. The world number 152, who defeated 22-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the second round, stunned the Greek star 7-6(0) 6-2 in one hour and 57 minutes. Catch our tennis predictions today here.
“It was a very, very tough match. At the beginning I wasn’t playing very well and he was pushing me very hard. But I started to serve better and play better and I was fighting hard,” Coric said in a post-match interview. “Then in the second set I thought I played the best set of the whole year.” The 25-year-old has become only the fourth man from Croatia to be crowned a Masters 1000 champion.
The Croat, who just returned from a long-term injury, competed in his first tour-level final since 2020, claiming his third career title, his first in this level since 2018 where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in Shanghai. “This is unbelievable,” Coric told the press. “I thought I would lose in the first round.” Follow one the best online gambling sites to get the latest on sports and casino updates.
Coric mounted a remarkable comeback, rallying from 1–4 in the first set before triumphing in the second set. Early in the match, Tsitsipas took the lead before Coric began to find his game. After finding his serve, Coric was able to hit with more depth and speed off the ground. This allowed him to claw back into the set against Tsitsipas—with a tie-break left as a deciding factor in their bout for first place.
Meanwhile, the 24-year-old Tsitsipas failed with his goal to become the first man this season to win championships on all three surfaces – hard court, grass and clay. “You’ve kicked my ass the last couple of times,” Tsitsipas jokingly said at the trophy ceremony. “You’ve proved yourself over and over again. It was an incredible comeback from injury. You are proving that you are up there with us.”
Elsewhere, Caroline Garcia beat Petra Kvitova 6-2 6-4 to clinch the Cincinnati Open title, becoming the first qualifier to win a WTA Tour 1000 tournament. The 28-year-old Frenchwoman beat three top-10 world-ranked opponents, Maria Sakkari, Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula en route to the final clash against the two-time Wimbledon Champion Kvitova.
Exciting games and big wins as you visit 12BET where exclusive promotions await you.
Visit 12BET login and join us to claim exclusive benefits and more
