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Croatian teen ready for Murray

London - It will be a battle of US Open junior champions past and present when Andy Murray faces 16-year-old Borna Coric in Britain's opening singles rubber against Croatia in a World Group playoff tie on Friday.

Coric, who lifted the boys trophy at Flushing Meadows last week, will get a glimpse of what a launch pad winning the US Open junior title can be when he faces Wimbledon champion Murray in Umag.

On paper a match between world number three Murray, who captured the boys crown in New York in 2004, and a teenage tyro who has never played a best of five-set match looks like a mismatch but Coric is relishing the opportunity.

"I don't think I can win - only if he injures himself," London-based Coric told the BBC about his debut match in the team event.

"It's going to be tough.

"It's unbelievable to play for my country.

"When I was eight or nine we won the Davis Cup - I was watching on the TV and hoping one day I'm going to play there."

Coric was brought into the Croatia squad because number one Marin Cilic and third-ranked Ivo Karlovic were unavailable.

The claycourt tie takes place from Friday to Sunday, with the winning country qualifying for the World Group.

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