A dramatic match was played between Novak Djokovic and Borna Ćorić at the Monte Carlo Masters this afternoon.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic needed ten match points to break the resistance of the diligent Borna Ćorić, but with 7-6 (2), 7-5, he defeated the Croatian Davis Cup representative in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 Series tournament in Monte Carlo, reports Gol.hr on April 18, 2018.
The start of the match went to Ćoric's quest for tactics to counter the two-time winner of Monte Carlo, where the 21-year-old player from Zagreb made too many mistakes and allowed Djokovic to break with a 4-1 advantage. However, Ćorić then replaced his mistakes with precision strikes that found Djokovic less responsive, and the result was Ćorić's return to the set.
In the seventh game, Ćorić broke Djokovic's service, which he also repeated in the 11th game. Ćorić came up to 15-40, and with a precise backhand, he threw Djokovic from the court and left him only to hit a simple forehand parallel. Unfortunately, Borna missed, and Djokovic used the ‘gift’ for the comeback. The Croatian tennis player played poor tie-breaks, and after 64 minutes, the first set went to Djokovic.
The second set did not start well for Ćorić. He immediately lost his service, and though he returned it in the next game, he lost 40-0 in the third. With five consecutive points, Djokovic came to a new break.
Although Djokovic came to the victory and had two match points (15-40) in the ninth game, Borna Ćorić once again showed great combat and secured four points to redeem himself in the duel. In the tenth game, the Serbian tennis player had 40-0 but missed the new three match points, allowing Ćorić to come up with a chance to break. Djokovic, however, then showed indefensible service.
After more than 11 minutes into the game and Djokovic’s advantage, the 21-year-old Croatian player used another break in the game to reach 5-5. Such a dilemma did not drive Djokovic off the court, and he continued to play with the same rhythm and patient tactics, waiting for Ćorić's mistakes to come to the fourth break in the match.
After two hours and 16 minutes of play and nine missed match points, Novak Djokovic took the chance to finish the match and advance into the quarterfinal against Austrian Dominic Thiem.
