Croatian teenager Borna Coric showed impressive fighting qualities by battling severe cramp on his way to a 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2, 1-6, 9-7 victory over Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky on Court 10 on Tuesday.

The 18-year-old world No.40 was reduced to rolling in serves in the latter stages of the 3hr 55min contest as he completed the first men’s singles victory of his career at The Championships.

With his mobility reduced considerably after suffering leg cramps late on in the deciding set, Coric still found a way to get past the man who famously put out Roger Federer in the second round at Wimbledon two years ago.

The result is the latest success story for the teenager from Zagreb, who beat Rafael Nadal in Basel last autumn and Andy Murray on his way to the semi-finals in Dubai in February. Coric, who has been coached by former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson since May, also reached the last four in Nice prior to the French Open.

The victory means Coric will be back at the All England Club on Thursday when he will take on 25th seeded Italian Andreas Seppi in round two. The winner of that match could potentially face Murray in the third round on Saturday.

Coric won the boys' singles at the US Open in 2013 and a year later was named the ATP's Star of Tomorrow.