By Daily Sports on October 14, 2018
Borna Coric upset defending champion Roger Federer and will face Novak Djokovic in the Shanghai Masters final on Sunday.
Coric earned passage to the final by taking down the top-seeded Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals on Saturday.
“It was one of the best matches of my life,” Coric said.
The Croatian gave himself a third career shot at Djokovic. In their previous meetings, Coric failed to take a set off of Djokovic.
The soon-to-be-No. 2-ranked Djokovic booked his final appointment after crushing No. 5 Alexander Zverev 6-2, 6-1. It extended Djokovic’s match winning streak to 17 straight, and he is 26-1 in matches played since the start of Wimbledon.
Coric, who said he almost skipped the event because of neck pain, finished off Federer in style with the final two points being an ace and a sizzling forehand crosscourt winner.
“Today, really, I just came on the court with absolutely no pressure,” Coric said. “I basically didn’t care, and that’s why I played so good.”
Coric didn’t offer Federer a break point opportunity, while managing to break Federer’s serve in the opening game of both sets. In all, Federer presented Coric with seven beak point possibilities.
“He had more punch on the ball. He served better,” Federer said. “I got off to a bad start in both sets. That combination is plenty here in Shanghai with fast conditions.”
Coric, who is 2-2 against Federer, also beat the 20-time Grand Slam champion in their last outing at Halle in June.
Djokovic’s win over Zverev and Federer’s demise guaranteed he will move up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the world rankings on Monday, which has him swapping positions with Federer, but still trailing No. 1 Rafael Nadal. (KweseESPN)
•Photo shows Borna Coric
Source Daily Sports
Posted October 14, 2018
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