The future of tennis faced off in the first round of the 2016 French Open. Borna Coric proved far too much for fellow teenager Taylor Fritz to overcome. Coric won the match 6-3, 6-1, 6-3.
Croation-born Coric took little time to vanquish yet another American home from the Roland Garros. Coric began the match on a torrid pace, opening to a 3-1 lead that he would not relinquish.
He would go on to have a strong final two sets, setting the stage for a second round clash against the controversial Aussie Bernard Tomic.
The future is now
Both Coric and Fritz are widely held to represent the bright future of men's tennis. Fritz has had an impressive and spectacular 2016 so far. He reached his first career ATP final at the Memphis Open. Coric is ranked 47th in the world and has had a more up-and-down season, though many still have high hopes for the young prodigy. He overmatched his fellow teenager on the famous red clay today, posting impressive numbers.
Coric began the match breaking Fritz and would eventually take a 3-1 lead. The Croat was very steady on his first serve, a far cry from his opponent Fritz. The American went a underwhelming 22 of 41 on his first serve, not nearly enough to match the crispness across the net. Fritz, however, would bounce back with solid mechanics. He managed to break Coric when he was serving for the set. Yet the young American struggled on the clay, not able to dig his heels in the surface or make the necessary slides to match the fluid-like motion of Coric.
Coric would take the set 6-3. It was his first set-clincher on clay since going the distance against Mikhail Kukushkin in Rome.
Coric closes it out
The following two sets would be more of the same for the teenage phenoms. While Fritz gave no lack of effort, he simply was outmatched and outplayed by Coric. At just 18-years-old, the Croat reached the third round at Roland Garros a year ago. That experience proved to be the difference as he has appeared to quickly master the surface in Paris.
He easily breezed through the second set 6-1 and barnstormed the final set, sliding gracefully on the surface he has taken a quick liking to. A flustered Fritz, however, becomes the latest American to be dispatched from this year's grand slam. He'll look for brighter horizons as he looks to build on his earlier success this year.
Coric, however, is not being taken lightly by his next opponent. The Australian Tomic understands that, while he is perceived to be the better player, he recognizes how dangerous Coric can be, telling reporters that he believes clay to be Coric's favorite surface. Favorite surface or not, for now, Borna Coric will rejoice in the fact that he has advanced out of the first round at the French Open.