Spoiler:
Croatian sets up second-round meeting with Paire
Borna Coric began his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign in style on Tuesday, beating fifth seed Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3.
The World No. 50 began both sets in top form and, despite dropping serve late in each set, re-established control quickly each time to secure the straight-set win in 76 minutes.
”He did come back in the both sets,” said Coric. “It was a pretty good effort from him... but I managed to stay calm. I didn't panic. It was good.”
Coric will meet another Frenchman for a place in the quarter-finals, after Benoit Paire’s three-set win over Yoshihito Nishioka on Monday. Coric leads their FedEx ATPHead2Head series 1-0.
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The 2015 semi-finalist (l. to Federer) hit six aces and broke the Frenchman’s serve on four occasions to move into the last 16. "I think I was returning pretty good today,” reflected Coric. “I was happy with my return. I think it got me through the match also. I was not serving very well. I was not happy with my serve. I need to go and practise some serves now. Otherwise... it was good performance.”
Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced to the second round, needing just 56 minutes to dispatch of Andreas Haider-Maurer 62, 6-4. Struff hit 13 aces and dropped just two points behind his first serve in a dominant serving performance.
Did You Know?
Borna Coric reached the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-finals, on his debut, as a lucky loser in 2015. The Croatian beat third seed Andy Murray en route to the last four, before falling to eventual champion Roger Federer.
Borna Coric began his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships campaign in style on Tuesday, beating fifth seed Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-3.
The World No. 50 began both sets in top form and, despite dropping serve late in each set, re-established control quickly each time to secure the straight-set win in 76 minutes.
”He did come back in the both sets,” said Coric. “It was a pretty good effort from him... but I managed to stay calm. I didn't panic. It was good.”
Coric will meet another Frenchman for a place in the quarter-finals, after Benoit Paire’s three-set win over Yoshihito Nishioka on Monday. Coric leads their FedEx ATPHead2Head series 1-0.
Watch Live On TennisTV
Watch Full Match Replays
The 2015 semi-finalist (l. to Federer) hit six aces and broke the Frenchman’s serve on four occasions to move into the last 16. "I think I was returning pretty good today,” reflected Coric. “I was happy with my return. I think it got me through the match also. I was not serving very well. I was not happy with my serve. I need to go and practise some serves now. Otherwise... it was good performance.”
Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced to the second round, needing just 56 minutes to dispatch of Andreas Haider-Maurer 62, 6-4. Struff hit 13 aces and dropped just two points behind his first serve in a dominant serving performance.
Did You Know?
Borna Coric reached the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-finals, on his debut, as a lucky loser in 2015. The Croatian beat third seed Andy Murray en route to the last four, before falling to eventual champion Roger Federer.