Cincinnati, United States

Borna Coric of Croatia on Wednesday produced a stunning performance to end Rafael Nadal's run after a hard fought battle at the Western and Southern Open and advance to the third round in Cincinnati Open.

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Coric spoiled the return of the Spaniard after a five-year absence from the ATP Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday with a 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 6-3 upset in the second round. The Croatian fought for two hours, 51 minutes to secure his biggest win of the season by both opponent and stage.

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Both players opened confidently, the Spaniard made a remarkably strong start, playing shots into a down-the-line backhand on the very first point and not making an unforced error until the seventh game.

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With Nadal double-faulting on Coric's third set point, the Croatian made amends after a clumsy drop shot on a short ball at 9/8. He supported the breakthrough with a love hold and had no problems serving out the match after extending his final service game with a statement winner to cap a victory.

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He will next face Roberto Bautista Agut, who cruised to the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 victory against home hope Marcos Giron earlier on Wednesday.

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"It`s going to be a very interesting match," said Coric, who holds a 5-4 ATP Head2Head series lead against the Spaniard. "I need to be very aggressive for sure, especially because I was playing for a very long time today and I also finished very late. So I'm going to be even more aggressive probably," he added.