Masterful Nadal rolls past Coric in Montreal
It was a Rafael Nadal masterclass as the 15-time grand slam champion made like work of talented Croatian Borna Coric at the ATP Rogers Cup.
Top seed Nadal was relentless and dominant in his 6-1 6-2 second-round victory at the ATP 1000 tournament in Montreal on Wednesday.
A three-time Rogers Cup champion – his most recent success against Milos Raonic in 2013 – Nadal barely raised a sweat as he set up a last-16 meeting with local favourite and wildcard Denis Shapovalov after one hour, 11 minutes on court.
Nadal was in a dominant mood from the outset as he raced through the opening set against Coric.
The first break point of the match was on Coric's serve in the second game but he dug himself out of 30-40 with a great cross-court forehand, only to forehand into the net, gifting Nadal another chance and the Spaniard did not miss, firing a forehand winner down the line.
Coric did not back down, taking the match to French Open champion Nadal but the veteran was just far too good as he consolidated for a 3-0 lead.
Nadal continued his flawless start, breaking to love, with Coric managing to win only six points through four games.
Coric put himself on the board, forcing Nadal to serve out the set, drawing cheers from the crowd but the latter's power and precision proved too hot to handle.
Nadal carried on where he left off in the second set, breaking again in the opening game.
Coric huffed and puffed – avoiding a second-set bagel, earning his first break point of the match and making his opponent serve it out, but he could not prevent the 31-year-old from easing into the round of 16.
