Rafael Nadal showed the rust from his long layoff with a wrist injury on Thursday, losing in straight sets to Croatia’s Borna Coric at the Western & Southern Open.
The 30-year-old Spaniard was sluggish and well off the mark with all of his shots as Coric grabbed control and won 6-1, 6-3 in an hour and 11 minutes. The 19-year-old reached the quarterfinal of a Masters tournament for the first time and ended his streak of 10 straight losses against Top 10 opponents.
The upset left only one member of the Big Four still in the running.
Defending champion Roger Federer and top-ranked Novak Djokovic are missing the tournament because of injuries. Andy Murray is playing, but feeling the effects of a gruelling week in Rio de Janeiro where he won the gold medal on Sunday. Along with Nadal, the four have combined to win 54 of the last 58 Masters events.
Nadal missed two months because of an injured left wrist and returned to the courts in Rio, where he lost in the semifinal. The lack of matches showed in Cincinnati — Nadal double-faulted five times and had 27 unforced errors. Coric surged ahead 4-0 in the second set and closed it out.
Steve Johnson also advanced to the quarterfinal on Thursday and put himself in position to become the top American in the ATP rankings heading into the U.S. Open.
Johnson beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6 (6) and raised his index finger in celebration. He’ll move into the ATP’s top spot next week, knocking John Isner out of the slot that he’s held every week since July 29, 2013. Isner lost in the second round in Cincinnati.
“Hasn’t sunk in yet,” Johnson said. “I just found out. So it’s an honour, it really is. John has held that spot for a while, and I’m just glad that there are a bunch of Americans pushing toward the top.”
Second-seeded Stan Wawrinka wasted a chance to take advantage of the wide-open draw on Thursday, losing to Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4. Wawrinka smacked his racket on the ground as he fell behind in the first set, the start of a frustrating match overall. Tied 3-3 in the second set, Wawrinka committed two unforced forehand errors and Dimitrov got the break he needed to take control.
Wawrinka had one of those few Masters titles that wasn’t claimed by the Big Four, winning in Monte Carlo in 2014.
In the women’s bracket, Karolina Pliskova became the first woman to reach the quarterfinals, defeating Misaki Doi 7-5, 6-3. Doi was a “lucky loser” who replaced defending champion Serena Williams when she withdrew with an inflamed shoulder on Monday.
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