Marin Cilic, currently ranked #3 in the world, may finally be fulfilling his promise having won the 2014 US Open and was a finalist at two of the last three slams but unequivocally, Borna Coric is the future of Croatian tennis.

It was only several years ago that the name Borna Coric first captured my attention. Soon after, the 17-year-old Croat was on everyone’s radar.

In the fall of 2014, just shy of his 18th birthday, Coric scored a huge upset at the Swiss Indoors in Basel defeating Rafa Nadal in straight sets in the quarters. He would finish that season inside the top 100 and #89 and as the youngest player to accomplish this feat, was awarded the ATP Star of Tomorrow.

In 2015, he defeated then world #3 Andy Murray in the quarters in Dubai making this his second win over a top-five player and by July of that season, had achieved a career-high ranking of #33.

In 2016 at the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, Coric earned his second straight sets victory over Nadal. Unfortunately, he was forced to retire due to a knee injury during his quarterfinal match against countryman and eventual champion, Marin Cilic. Before the end of that season, the young Croat would undergo surgery to repair the damage.

He appeared to have been on an upward trajectory, but his progression inexorably stalled and soon the spotlight shifted to other Next Gen stars like Germany’s Alexander Zverev and Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.

In 2017, he won his first ATP tour title at the Grand Prix Hassan II on clay, coming back from a set down and saving five match points in defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber. At the Madrid Open, he claimed his second win over Andy Murray, then ranked world #1 and later that summer at the US Open, earned his greatest victory at the grand slam level by defeating the #4 seed Sascha Zverev.

In the fall of 2017 at the inaugural Next Gen Finals in Milan, Coric won his round-robin group but lost in the semis to eventual finalist, Andrey Rublev. It was also during this period that he began working with a new team – Kristijan Schneider and Riccardo Piatti. His main objective was the perspective and input of fresh eyes and their ability to alter not only his game but his outlook.

In Indian Wells last week, he defeated three seeded players including world #7 Kevin Anderson to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal where he took on world #1 Roger Federer for just the second time.

Despite being up a set and a break, Coric would succumb to Federer’s vast experience and variety of shot. Following his impressive run in the desert, his ranking jumped 13 points to #36 with the stated goal of cracking the top ten within the next several years.

A steady and at times aggressive baseline player, Coric manages to consistently play within himself. His serve and groundstrokes are imposing while his quiet resolve and, for the most part, unwavering focus are formidable.

At times he allows his emotions to cloud his judgment and this has cost him most notably last year at the French Open where he lost his composure and a tight four-set match to Steve Johnson in the second round.

Compared to Nick Kyrgios, Coric appears level-headed but the Croat has had numerous on-court meltdowns in his burgeoning career and readily admits that like most Croats, he is at times overly emotional and mentally erratic.

After a few stagnant seasons, Coric, just twenty-one years of age, is once again headed up the rankings but this time with intention. He made a commitment to train exceptionally hard during the off-season and play closer to the baseline. Now, a few years out from his breakthrough season, seems to possess the clarity and patience requisite to maintain his success.

Coric is 11-4 on the season to date. Look out Miami: he is the 29th seed and outdoor hard is his favorite surface.