Borna Coric
Croatia’s Borna Coric will take on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Round of 16 at the Madrid Open
Borna Coric has been in very poor form of late and suffered first-round exits in all of his previous four tournaments – Srpska Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, the Miami Open and the Indian Wells Masters. His best performance so far this year came at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where he reached the Quarter-finals but eventually lost to No.3 seed Daniil Medvedev. Coric is yet to win any silverware this season and he is desperate to turn things around in Madrid.
The 26-year-old is seeded No.17 and has lived up to expectations so far. Coric received a bye in the first round thanks to his superior seeding and defeated France’s Hugo Gaston in his first match of the tournament. He followed it up with an impressive 7-6, 6-3 victory against No.12 seed Hubert Hurkacz to set up a clash against Spain’s Davidovich Fokina.
Fokina has had an average season but has kind of redeemed himself in Madrid. The Spaniard began his campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against compatriot Ramos-Vinolas. He pulled off a heist in the next round against sixth seed Holger Rune, recording a memorable victory. It remains to be seen if Fokina can continue his impeccable run and go all the way to clinch the title. However, the No.29 seed has to first get past the much-fancied Borna Coric and there is no room for complacency.
Date – Tuesday, 2nd May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Madrid, Spain
Match details – Round of 16 match
Coric and Fokina have played each other only once before on the ATP tour. The Spaniard emerged victorious on that occasion at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters and leads the overall head-to-head 1-0. However, Coric is in good form and this match is a really difficult one to call. Both players are very close in terms of gameplay and rankings. We are expecting an intense battle with Coric eventually edging out Fokina in three sets.
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