MASON, Ohio — Second seeded at the Cincinnati tournament, Rafael Nadal was upset 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3 by Croatian Borna Coric, ranked 152nd in the world.
Coric thus spoiled the return of Nadal after an absence of a month and a half, the result of an abdominal tear.
Coric led 12-6 for aces, in a match where Nadal committed seven double faults.
There was just one break on either side, but the Croatian outshot the winner 38-22 against the winner of 22 major tournaments.
Something of a pet peeve of the Spaniard, Coric is 3-2 against him.
In the third round, Coric will face 15th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
Hurkacz and Kyrgios stumble
Hubert Hurkacz, recent finalist in Montreal, and Nick Kyrgios, who appeared physically borrowed two weeks before the US Open, were stopped in the second round of the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.
The 36-year-old Spaniard, 3rd in the world, must face the Croatian Borna Coric (152nd).
He hasn’t played since July 6 and his hard-fought quarter-final at Wimbledon against Taylor Fritz. Two days later, the winner of the Australian Open and Roland-Garros saw his dream of a calendar Grand Slam collapse, forfeiting against Kyrgios, prevented by an abdominal tear.
Fritz easily gets rid of Kyrgios
The Australian (28th), who took the opportunity to climb for the first time in his career in a Major tournament, certainly beaten by Novak Djokovic in the final, has not slowed down since, winning in Washington there is two weeks when he put an end to three years of famine.
But the overflow of matches seems hard to digest. Like in his Masters 1000 Montreal quarter-final loss to Hubert Hurkacz, Kyrgios dragged his carcass to Ohio against Taylor Fritz, his back and left knee still hurting.
Tsitsipas tranquille
And when things go wrong, it shows in the 27-year-old Australian, who showed signs of growing frustration from the start, complaining about the annoying flickering of lights on a billboard. Without finding a solution.
He lost 6-3, 6-2 without a fight, in just 51 minutes, against the solid American (13th), winner in Indian Wells in March, who did not ask for so much.
“It’s great the way my game is coming together. This is the kind of game I need to gain confidence. A lot of things were going well today, I felt good, ”said Taylor Fritz, who will face Russian Andrey Rublev (8th).
Later, the Pole Hubert Hurkacz (10th), finalist in Montreal on Sunday against Pablo Carreño, also fell, beaten 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 by American John Isner (50th).
For his part, Stefanos Tsitsipas (7th) had no trouble reaching the round of 16, dismissing Serbian Filip Krajinovic (46th) 6-3, 6-4.
Cameron Norrie, 11th in the world and finalist in the Los Cabos tournament two weeks ago, overthrew 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Andy Murray (47th), who ended with cramps.
Murray frustrated with Norrie
Cameron Norrie, 11th in the world and finalist of the Los Cabos tournament two weeks ago, qualified for the round of 16 by overthrowing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 Andy Murray (47th).
The Briton will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud (5th), semi-finalist in Montreal last week, or the American Ben Shelton (229th) beneficiary of a pass.
In search of a third title in 2022 after those gleaned at Delray Beach in Lyon, Norrie had to be patient to contain his compatriot, author of a very convincing start and rewarded with winning the first set.
After being released from the start in Washington and Montreal, Murray had already shown his best on Monday in Ohio, eliminating another returning Swiss Stan Wawrinka after a marathon match, 7-6 5-7 7-5.
But he was broken at 4-3 in the second set, immediately lost, and then another game started.
Murray, who at 35 continues his quest for a return to the highest level, which led him to two finals this year in Sydney and Stuttgart, had three opportunities to break his opponent at 3-2, but did not materialize.
Suffering from cramps, the winner of the tournament in 2008 and 2011, physically marked time and Norrie took the opportunity to take the serve at 4-4, before concluding on his first match point in 2:38.
“At times I felt like I played very well, but sometimes not at all. My consistency was perhaps not the appointment as I would have liked. But there was good tennis at times, ”wanted to positively the Scotsman who, at 35, continues his quest for a return to the highest level.
Norrie will face the American Ben Shelton (229th) beneficiary of a wild card, who created the surprise of the day, eliminating 6-3, 6-3 the Norwegian Casper Ruud (5th).
