BASEL, Switzerland (AP) – Teenager Borna Coric upset second-seeded Rafael Nadal in straight sets Friday to reach the semifinals of the Swiss Indoors and announce himself as one of the rising stars of tennis.
There was no such slip-up for Roger Federer as the top-seeded Swiss remained on course for his sixth title in Basel after beating fifth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Nadal, who announced after the match he will have season-ending appendicitis surgery and was playing just his third tournament since Wimbledon due to a wrist injury, looked nowhere near his best while Coric was in sparkling form to win 6-2, 7-6 (4).
“It was difficult in the whole match, in the whole tournament,” Nadal said. “Every day I felt more tired, I tried to practice, to get fit but it was not possible. The past four, five months have been very tough for me. It’s been difficult to play and compete.”
It took the 17-year-old Croatian just 35 minutes to take the opening set, after storming into a 5-0 lead to stun the crowd.