Borna Ćorić will fight for a place in the semi-finals against the experienced Italian player Fabio Fognini.
Croatian tennis player Borna Ćorić plunged into the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 series tournament in Monte Carlo. In the third round of the competition, he defeated Frenchman Pierre-Hugo Herbert 6-4, 6-2 in an hour and 41 minutes of play, reports Gol.hr on April 18, 2019.
Ćorić secured his second win in the same number of meetings against Herbert much easier than expected. The Frenchman made a great deal of mistakes with his backhand, and Ćorić played patiently until he came to the victory.
Ćorić had enough to win the first set from a break he had already achieved in the third game. Immediately after he took Herbert’s service, Ćorić had to save two break points, even though he was up 40-0 in that game, but by the end of the first set, his first strike was no longer at risk. Moreover, with a 5-3 advantage, Ćorić had another chance to break, but Herbert played that point with excellence.
In the second game of the second set, Ćorić was faced with another break point but saved it with an ace. Immediately afterward, he took Herbert's service and thanks to Herbert’s missed backhand, Ćorić had another break at 4-1 and essentially secured victory.
Although at 5-1 he missed four match points on Herbert's service, Ćorić had no problem completing the duel on his first strike.
Ćorić's rival in the quarter-finals will be Italian Fabio Fognini who defeated German player Alexander "Sascha" Zverev 7-6 (6), 6-1.
Recall, Marin Čilić is already out of the Monte Carlo Masters, as is Mate Pavić who lost with doubles partner Oliver Marach in the round of 16 on Thursday. However, Croatian doubles team Nikola Mektić and Franko Škugor will play against Marcelo Melo and Lukasz Kubot in the quarter-finals on Friday.
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