The ATP No.31 reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career, beating No.10 Hubert Hurkacs 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1- 6, 7-6 (7). But interestingly, Sebastian Korda’s achievement came more than two decades after his father won his only Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.
Petr Korda was seeded sixth in the 1998 tournament and won it beating Marcelo Ríos 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the final. It was the only Grand Slam of his career, having already reached the Roland-Garros final in 1992.
To cement the family’s bond with Australia, it should also be remembered that Sebastian Korda previously won the junior singles title at the 2018 Australian Open, beating Zeng Chung-Hsin 7-6(6), 6 -4 in the final.
The family’s love for Australia is not limited to tennis, as Sebastian Korda’s sisters, Jessica and Nellie, have won golf tournaments held in the country. Jessica Korda won the 2012 Women’s Australian Open in Melbourne and Nellie Korda won the 2019 tournament at The Grange.
After defeating Hurkach, Korda will face 18th seeded Russian tennis player Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals. The Russian reached his first quarter-final at the Australian Major, literally destroying Japan’s 31st seed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-0, 7-6(4).
Korda and Khachanov will meet for the fourth time, while the American leads 2:1 in personal encounters. The two faced off twice in the 2022 season, with Korda winning both matches in a row. The American beat Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters then won 7-5, 7-6(9) in the second round of the European Open in Antwerp. But Khachanov beat Korda at Wimbledon in 2021 in 5 sets – 3:6, 6:4, 6:3, 5:7, 10:8. And a hard fight is also expected today. Korda intends to follow his father’s path, he has already knocked out a Russian – Daniil Medvedev, but Khachanov is also showing excellent tennis at the tournament in Australia.
Vyacheslav Gorbachev, Athletistic
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I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
