Status: ATP No. 39.
Ht: 6-1 Wt: 160
DOB: Nov. 14, 1996 In: Zagreb, Croatia
First Tennis Memory: “Watching my dad play. So I actually started because I was watching him playing.”
Tennis Inspirations: “Rafa Nadal, would say.”
First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: “I think it was Goran Ivanisevic. Actually, I also hope so because he’s an unbelievable guy. I hoped I actually met him first. (Where?) In Croatia. We went to practice. I was like maybe ten or eleven. So he heard about me. And then he asked if we want to practice because he wanted to see how I’m playing.”
Greatest Career Moment (so far): “Davis Cup against Poland (def. Janowicz last year). And beating Nadal (in Basel QF last year).”
Most Painful Moment: “Good question. I’m not sure, honestly. I’m gonna need some time to think about it…maybe against… I think in the juniors, the semifinal of the French Open against (Christian) Garin (of Chile). I really wanted to win that match. I think I was close but he was better on that day.”
Last Book Read: “Mike Tyson book [smiles].”
Funniest Players Encountered: “A couple of players are very funny. I really like their quotes and everything. (Who?) Ernests Gulbis. I like to see Tsonga playing as well, he’s funny on the court.”
Strangest Match: “I got a retired on at 1-0 at US Open qualifying last year. For me, I just didn’t expect that from US Open. This was a little bit weird. (His reason?) I think stomach pain.”
Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: “Because I just love being in the tournaments, being on the Tour, also when I’m competing against the other guys I just love it. And it’s fight all the time.”
Favorite Sport Outside Of Tennis: “Table tennis.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “When someone is good as a person. When he wants to help the other people. Also when someone, if he’s not all the time jealous, he needs to be jealous, but just a little bit, not all the time. If he’s just acting normal.”
Scoop’s new book “Facing Nadal: Symposium of a Champion” is available at amazon for $9.99.
Young Borna respects Mike Tyson and the humor of Gulbis
Scoop Malinowski · June 23, 2015 at 9:41 am
I love the story about Goran reaching out to young Coric, after having heard about him, the former Wimbledon champ wanted to watch him play and practice with him. Goran trying to help the future generations of young Croatian players. American tennis needs some of it’s former champions to be generous like Goran.
Scoop Malinowski · June 23, 2015 at 1:05 pm
Harrison out of Wimb qualies, lost in 3 sets to Andreozzi. Larcher De Brito wins 12-10 in third to Bonventure of Belgium, LDB has a lot of points to defend, she made 3rd round of main draw last year. Taylor Fritz won main draw match in Nottingham.
Dan markowitz · June 23, 2015 at 8:52 pm
That’s a bad loss for Harry. When you lose to a Brazilian ranked No 178 and its on grass that’s a bad loss. This is why Harry shouldn’t talk garbage like his goal is to be No. 1. Wait until you break the top 25 before you say that.
Bad day for Americans, only winner was Fratangelo. Donaldson got soundly beat by Dodig, who I’m surprised is in the Qualis. Buchanan was up 6-1, 2-1 and then retired. Strange. Jarmere Jenkins is having a tough year/career.
Scoop Malinowski · June 24, 2015 at 8:31 am
Bad loss for Harrison is right, he’s been in London for weeks and bombed out of everything he played, he was also practicing with Hewitt at Wimbledon. Just another slump for Harry, he’s had a few of those. And remember Harrison beat Dimitrov earlier this year, but with how Super G is playing this year, that win doesn’t look all that great.
Dan Markowitz · June 24, 2015 at 9:49 am
No, a win over Dimitrov these days is almost the norm on tour. He and Bouchard have both tumbled big time. I think Bouchard has lost her last 11 of 12 matches. How could that happen to a player once regarded as so promising and who has the best coaches in the world? It’s almost mind-boggling.
You know, I was at the Evert Academy in Boca Raton yesterday. Callum, my son, was working out there and went over and watched these two 14 year-old’s play. One was from the Ukraine and had a nice game, fast, good strokes, Top-20 in his age group in the Ukraine, but he was struggling with this boy from Philadelphia who was more a defensive player.
And the coach, a guy I was really impressed with, had coached at Columbia U and last year at Baylor, as an assistant, his name is Marko Matteucci, and he’s a coach now at Evert’s, was telling the Ukraine player’s dad, “(The player) has to understand and follow what’s going on on the other side of the court. Use your head. It’s not about power. Relax.”
Because the young Ukrainian player was getting too emotional and talking to himself, and the coach said, which I find really interesting, “As a junior, you have to stay on the right side of the brain. Visualization (successful shots you’re going to hit) is better than than talking because you stay on the right side of the brain, the creative side. Once you start talking you go to the left side of the brain so stop talking between points.”
Dan Markowitz · June 24, 2015 at 9:58 am
Oh yes, my point being is that I think Harry is too much on the left side of his brain. He talks too much, gets too emotional and that hurts him.
Elias Ymer is into the last round of Qualis. I think he is seriously overlooked when everyone talks about the great young players like Coric, Zverev, Kokkanaikis and maybe Tiafoe. This Swede was coached by Magnus Norman, who’s turning every one he touches into gold, he’s got great genes and he’s making nice progress. Watch out for Ymer.
Scoop Malinowski · June 24, 2015 at 1:56 pm
Harrison has changed his court demeanor this year, he talked about it when he was hot earlier this spring, he’s controlling the outbursts now. He was playing and moving much better earlier in the year but the Hewitt camp, which worked with Harrison last week in London, said he’s coming back from injury. Maybe Harry is not a hundred percent healthy and rushing it back to play W. He was playing really good tennis earlier this year.
Scoop Malinowski · June 24, 2015 at 1:58 pm
Ymer played the ATP event vs. Dimitrov in July two years ago the same week Kozlov had the WC into Newport. He’s definitely in the mix of young teens who can make it big. I remember Kozlov was watching him on TV vs. Dimitrov minutes before his press conference following his three set loss to Prszieszny, who then straight setted Raj Ram the next round, Ram was former Newport champ.
dan markowitz · June 24, 2015 at 2:30 pm
Getting ready for Newport big-time, Scoop. I can see the grass already and I was thinking this the other day, this 5 week span of grass court tennis is my favorite period of the tennis season. I love watching grass court tennis. I like it better than any other surface. It’s actually when the all-around players can compete and win. The guys and gals who can venture to net, can scramble. I’m not a fan so much of long, attrition tennis on hard courts. I want to see players use their brains as well as their brawn.
I love shorter, more net-attacking points and I like to see these players who have gotten so cemented to the baseline get out of their comfort zone. This coach the other day at Everts’ was telling a father, “Tennis (especially at the junior level) is about coming out of your comfort zone” and seeing what’s on the other side of the net, your opponent, so you can attack his game.
On hard courts and clay, I think you see more players just playing inside their comfort zone. This coach also was telling about this young player who was having trouble in the Futures until he decided he just wasn’t going to miss, he refused to miss, and then he won an event. I can see the appeal of that type of playing, but I like players who are shotmakers and gamble and will take a chance on missing to hit a great shot. That’s the tennis I prefer seeing and I think grass forces you to do that more, come out of your comfort zone.