Rafael Nadal’s return from injury ended in defeat as the Spaniard suffered a three-set defeat to Borna Coric at the Western and Southern Open.
The 36-year-old was beaten 6-7(9), 6-4, 3-6 in what marked his first appearance since he was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon ahead of his semi-final against Nick Kyrgios due to an abdominal tear.
“It has been very, very special,” Coric said during his on-court interview afterwards. “I was out for the last two years and I didn’t play on the big stage in front of the crowd and everybody. I was honestly just looking forward to playing this match as I haven’t had that in the last two years. Now that I won, it’s kind of crazy.”
Coric, making his own return having missed Wimbledon through injury, went toe-to-toe with Nadal from the start as both rescued two set points during a gruelling first-set tie break that eventually fell to the Croatian.
Nadal responded strongly to level the match in the second after claiming the first break point of the contest, before surrendering an early break in the decider as Coric pulled away for the victory.
Coric will now take on Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round following his victory over Marcos Giron.
The result denied the world No 3 a return back to the top of the ATP rankings, though he will get the opportunity to do so again at the US Open.
“Obviously I didn’t play my best match, something that can happen,” Nadal told reporters.
“So coming back from a tough period of time, something that’s easy to accept and easy to say congrats to Borna that he played better.” – Sky Sports
