As the ATP Next Gen continent continues their ascent in the rankings, Thursday provided the perfect platform for them to illustrate their potential at Indian Wells.
Taking to the premier court of the tournament was Borna Coric against Taylor Fritz. The two youngest players remaining in the draw. Unseeded Coric entered the match in sharp form after dropping just eight games in his previous three matches. Meanwhile, Fritz endured a tougher route to the last 16, but had the backing of the home crowd on his side.
“I think for the last few months I’ve been focusing on the right things. I’ve been a little bit more aggressive than usual. It’s been paying off, for now.” Coric told Sky Sports after the match.
The intriguing match-up between the two was one that lived up to expectations with Coric needing over two hours to win 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4. He started the sharpest out of the two by cruising through the opening set in just 27 minutes. Dropping only two points behind his serve.
It was a similar situation in the following set, but as the wind picked up, so did Fritz’s form. Leading 6-2, 5-3, Coric failed to serve the match out as the errors began to mount. The failure by the world No.49 cost him dearly as the American seized his opportunity to level. It was just as dramatic in the tiebreaker with Fritz fighting back from 0-4 to win 8-6 as his opponent continued to falter. Saving a match point on route.
The dramatic turnaround continued to the delight of the crowd. Coric’s confidence in his shot-making evaporated as Fritz increased his intensity in the match. Breaking with ease at the start of the decider. Still, it was not enough to prevent the Croat from winning the battle. As he broke back, Fritz suddenly found himself serving to stay in the tournament. Then 49 minutes after his first match point opportunity, Coric finally prevailed in a somewhat unfortunate way. Benefiting from a double fault from his rival.
“I thought in the first set I was playing very good. I was hitting the ball very clean, very fast. Then the wind came, I just lost my rhythm a little bit in my own strokes.” The 21-year-old evaluated.
“Then the score was very tight and I couldn’t relax. I was not hitting the ball very good any more and towards the end, I was just fighting and trying to win the match.”
Hitting 25 winners to 32 unforced errors, Coric will now play in his third quarter-final at Masters level and his first ever in Indian Wells.
Chung shines, stumbles, then shines
Australian Open semi-finalist Hyeon Chung continued his dream season by reaching his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final. The 21-year-old South Korean was in immaculate form during his 6-1, 6-3, triumph over Pablo Cuevas. During the first seven games of the match, he dropped a total of nine points. Only one of those occurring on his serve.
In cruised control at 6-1, 5-0, it seemed that the world No.26 would close the match out with ease, but it was far from the case. A 17-minute service game saw Chung fail to convert seven match points due to the fierce fighting spirit of Cuevas. Triggering a mini three-game comeback by the Uruguayan player. Despite the scare, Chung had already inflicted his damage. Due to such a commanding lead, he managed to seal victory on his 10th opportunity after a Cuevas forehand landed out.
Becoming the first South Korea to reach the last eight of a Master tournament, Chung will next play either Roger Federer or Jeremy Chardy.
