Coric excited for Sinner showdown: 'That's why you play tennis'

Jannik Sinner has taken the tennis world by storm in 2024. Few players knew that storm was coming before Borna Coric.

The two men, who will meet Thursday in the second round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers, have known each other since they were teens training at renowned coach Riccardo Piatti’s academy. Now they will face off on one of the world’s biggest stages, at the Montreal ATP Masters 1000 event.

“That's why you play tennis, and that's why I train. I think it's the same for everybody. So for sure, it's a great excitement, and it's going to be a very good test to see where I'm at,” Coric said. “Now, obviously he's the big favourite. He's playing unbelievable tennis this year. But I always like a good challenge and it's going to be very fun, for sure.”

Coric and Sinner have enjoyed opposite levels of success in 2024. The Croatian admitted it has been a struggle for him, especially during the clay-court season, when he tallied a 2-5 record according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

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The former No. 12 player in the PIF ATP Rankings felt his level was there early in the year on hard courts, but the results did not come. Then on clay, when he typically feels well, Coric did not.

That has not stopped the 27-year-old from working hard to put himself in position to take advantage of an opportunity like the one he will have against Sinner. He will try to stun the star who claimed his first major title at the Australian Open and later climbed to World No. 1.

Their first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash came two years ago in Monte-Carlo, where Sinner emerged victorious 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

“I remember it was not that good of a match to be honest. I think we played in Monaco, I lost in three sets. I remember also he was struggling. I didn't play well. He didn't play well, for sure,” Coric said. “It was kind of a very [sloppy] match, I would say. I don't think he was happy with his level either, but he managed to win in the end.”

Coric believes he met Sinner for the first time in 2017 or 2018 and that in the following few years, “he really improved so much in all aspects in the game”.

“When you see the improvement, the guy was putting in the work and the mental attitude that he needs to improve and [that] he needs to do better some things,” Coric said. “Absolutely huge respect for him.”

What specifically has the 22-year-old improved on most since his early days at Piatti’s academy?

“He just sticks to his game plan and to his routine. Obviously, [he is a] very, very hard-working man,” Coric said. “When I saw him the first time, he had an unbelievable backhand, good forehand, and also a good serve. And now he's one of the best servers on Tour, I would say, and he is an unbelievable mover as well. He was not moving that good when I first saw him. So really, he did improve a lot in those three, four years.”

A win would change the course of Coric’s entire season. With 19 victories against Top 10 opponents on his resume, the Montreal qualifier, who defeated Pedro Martinez in the first round of the main draw, will try to add No. 20 to the list.

“I’m going to enjoy it,” Coric said. “I’m happy with my level of tennis so far here, so hopefully it can be a good match.”