Wow, this result surprised me. Isner looked awfully tired whereas Borna played the best match, at least offensively, that I've ever seen from him. Borna can play defense at a very high level, just a notch below Novak or Andy at their best, but he's never been much of an offensive player. Granted, it's a lot easier to play offensive tennis when your opponent's legs are as heavy as it appeared Isner's were. Still, Borna was cracking the serve big, at least for him. In the past, Coric hits maybe one serve @ ~120 mph, with the rest more in the 110-115 range. Tonight Borna was bashing them in or near 120 throughout the match. Borna's was also hitting his forehand bigger than I've seen. Commentator Jimmy Arias also noted the improvements with Borna's serve & forehand.
Coric has had a merry-go-round of coaches in the past couple of years. He's just split with Ivica Ancic, and in his box was a new coach - I forget the name, just couldn't get past how much he looked like Novak's old fitness trainer. I have to wonder how much Borna's development stalled because he hasn't been able to find a solid relationship with a really good coach.
John looked tired I thought in Cincy. And he played a 3 set Match yesterday in Winston-Salem. I bet since John is from N.C. he was not happy about a loss there.
I have been wondering for some time what had happened to Borna. When I first starting seeing him I thought he was the real deal, but so far I have been wrong. Maybe it is a coaching situation problem?
Did you actually watch the Coric/Isner match? As Mae and I, as well as Arias & Gore in the booth, noted, Isner looked really tired, so tonight's loss is hardly a reflection of his level of play in Cinci. Plus Coric played far better offensive tennis than I've ever seen from him. He even said in the post-match interview that this was his best match of the year.
I have to say, Coric does grab the opportunities that he has even if he's not exactly been stellar -- said to be the first player to defeat Isner in Winston-Salem.
I have to say, Coric does grab the opportunities that he has even if he's not exactly been stellar -- said to be the first player to defeat Isner in Winston-Salem.
That would certainly explain why his serve lost so much speed. When I saw the stat that Coric's 1st serve average speed was 115 mph while Isner's was just 114, I knew something was wrong. I assumed it was just the weariness in his legs, but an abdominal injury would affect one's serve mph even more.
I think John can handle the loss. It might actually help him to get
1 or 2 rounds further at the US Open. He has played a lot after
Wimbledon. A few days more rest won't hurt him.
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