Borna Coric, a tennis player inspired by Mike Tyson
- The Croatian (No. 15) arrives at the ATP 250 in Los Cabos with a chance to challenge for the title.
Mexico City, July 18, 2023.- Tennis and boxing are two technically, physically and mentally demanding sports, where although there are doubles or mixed doubles matches, by excellence the so-called white sport is played in a one-on-one duel, as happens inside the ring. Perhaps that is the attraction that Croatian Borna Coric sees in both disciplines.
Coric, currently No. 15 in the world, and who is on the list of players to attend the Mifel Tennis Open by Telcel Oppo 2023 in Los Cabos, has shared that “if I wasn’t a tennis player, I would be a boxer”. It is not for nothing that his favorite sports celebrity is former American boxer Mike Tyson, who at the age of 20 became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. It was in 1996 that he won the World Boxing Council (WBC) title and dominated his division from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s.
By the way the Croatian, was able to meet his hero and idol when Tyson attended the Indian Wells Masters in March 2016. There Coric was just 19 years old and had been a pro for three years since he made his debut in 2013.
“(As a kid) I watched his fights and I found it very entertaining, I loved the way he fought. He was really cool. I always wanted to meet him,” Coric said in a 2020 ATP interview. Now 26 years old, he arrives in Los Cabos, where the 250 points in dispute are important for Coric to continue approaching the Top 10 after he obtained his best position in the ranking on November 5, 2018 when he reached the 12th rung.
After falling to the 278th spot at the end of May 2022, the Croatian began a meteoric rise by reaching the Cincinnati Masters 1000 title. In the final he defeated Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who will also be in Los Cabos.
In addition to that tournament played on hard court, Coric adds two other titles, the Halle tournament on grass that he won in 2018 and Marrakech, on clay, which he was credited in 2017.