"This week proves that if you keep working hard & believing in yourself, you can accomplish incredible things" - Rennae Stubbs on Borna Coric & Caroline Garcia run in Cincinnati
Former doubles World No. 1 Rennae Stubbs revealed that the wins of Borna Coric and Caroline Garcia at the Western & Southern Open on Sunday proved that hard work pays off.
Garcia defeated Petra Kvitova 6-2, 6-4 to win her biggest win in singles ahead of the US Open. Meanwhile, Coric capped off a remarkable week by defeating Rafael Nadal, Lorenzo Mussetti and Felix Auger-Alissame en route to the final. He then bested fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final to cap off the most successful title of his career so far.
She tweeted about Coric's grit after his comeback from injuries and Garcia's persistence on the WTA tour helping them win the biggest titles of their careers.
"This week proves that if you keep working hard and believing in yourself, you can accomplish incredible things! Congrats to Caroline Garcia and Borna Coric! What a week for them both. Veterans who persisted thru ups and downs and for Coric, injuries. Well done," said Stubbs.
This week proves that if you keep working hard and believing in yourself, you can accomplish incredible things! Congrats to Caroline Garcia and @borna_coric ! What a week for them both. Veterans who persisted thru ups and downs and for Coric, injuries. Well done.
"I have no words, to be honest. It's just an unbelievable feeling" - Borna Coric after winning the Cincinnati Masters
In his post-match press conference, Coric described having no words after winning the biggest title of his career.
The unseeded Croat explained that he was super happy after winning the final in Cincinnati, defeating fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets 7-6(0), 6-2.
"I have no words, to be honest. It's just an unbelievable feeling. Like I said many times, I just gonna enjoy this." said Coric." I thought I could play well. I was training hard, and I knew I could play good tennis, but that I could play this level tennis, I was just not aware. I'm just super happy, obviously," he added.
The Cincinnati champion mentioned that he didn't envision winning the title coming into the event but always believed in himself.
"No, I mean, I always believe in myself, you know. But again, to win the tournament when, you know, last week I was really playing poorly. Also, I was playing great last week, but still my level was not there," said the Croat.
"I didn't believe I'm gonna win the tournament. I was not really focused on, I didn't know -- I think when I beat Musetti, I came to locker room and I asked my coach, Who do I play next? I never look, you know, too much forward. Obviously sometimes I know, because when I was in the semifinals, obviously I know who I'm gonna play in the final, because it's not many matches. You just hear it," said Borna.
Borna Coric returned from a long-standing injury that saw him miss most of the 2021 season and a fall in the rankings. He entered the event ranked No.152 but will jump over 100 places to re-enter the top-30. Despite receiving entry to the US Open with a protected ranking, Coric will now be seeded for the New York Major.