Borna Coric equalled his best Grand Slam result on Saturday, beating Filip Krajinovic 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 at the Australian Open.
The 11th seed reached his second straight Grand Slam fourth round, firing 51 winners throughout the two-hour, 43-minute contest. At the 2018 US Open, Coric dropped one set en route to the fourth round before a straight-sets loss to eventual runner-up Juan Martin del Potro. Coric will meet Lucas Pouille or Alexei Popyrin for a place in the quarter-finals.
After dropping two of his opening three service games to lose the first set, Coric capitalised on service and forehand errors from Krajinovic to secure the only break of the second set and level the match.
In the third set, Coric ripped a forehand return to earn a 4-3 lead before clinching the set with a dipping backhand to the laces of Krajinovic at the net. Coric then charged into a 4-0 lead in the fourth set, as Krajinovic began to misfire on his groundstrokes at important moments. Despite failing to serve the match out at 5-2, Coric soon advanced with a fifth service break in the following game after taking control on match point with a sequence of powerful forehands.
Krajinovic was bidding to reach the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the first time. The 2017 Rolex Paris Masters finalist (l. to Sock) had never previously won a match at the Melbourne event.
Did You Know?
If Marin Cilic joins Coric in the Round of 16 here, it will be the second time that Croatia has had multiple representatives in the Australian Open fourth round. In 2010, Cilic and Ivo Karlovic both reached the Round of 16 in Melbourne.
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