Last Updated on January 17, 2022
Twenty-four years ago, in 1998, Peter Korda triumphed at the Grand Slam tournament in Australia. And now his son Sebastian has created the tournament’s first sensation at his debut Australian Open.
The Australian Open, the season’s first Grand Slam tournament, kicked off in Melbourne and caused a sensation almost immediately. Sebastian Korda, an American tennis player, knocked out No. 12 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, defeating him in three sets.
Sebastian Korda upsets No. 12 Cam Norrie in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4. Welcome back, Seb! 🥵 #AusOpen #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/eh6Ql05LMo
— Lob and Smash (@LobAndSmashFS) January 17, 2022
“Last year I was catching up, and now they’re already trying to catch up with me. This will be a new experience for me, which I hope I can handle well. The pressure was always there, under my dad, who was a strong tennis player, both sisters. I’m used to it now – I do what I like and the pressure is just good pressure,” summarized Korda.
In 2018 Sebastian conquered the junior Australian Open, and even then the achievements of the young tennis player began to be compared with the success of his father, because Peter Korda won this tournament at the adult level – in 1998. He was a successful athlete, the second racket of the world, so the comparison with his father Korda Jr.
Sebastian’s family is really athletic, his mom Regina Rajchrtová also played tennis and was even the 26th racket of the world. The young tennis player’s sisters Nelly and Jessica are professional golfers. By the way, Nellie recently won the Olympics in Tokyo and is currently number one in the world rankings.
In addition to winning the Junior Slam, Korda has an ATP trophy, which he won at Parma 2021. Last season was the best of his career, Sebastian even earned a call up to the Milan Junior Grand Final, where he lost in the final to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz
Since that competition and to this day the player has never set foot on the court. The coronavirus is to blame. Sebastian tested positive on arrival on the Green Continent and was forced to withdraw before the Australian Open. But the young man didn’t think to get discouraged. On his social media page, Korda shared a video of him practicing during his self-isolation right in his hotel room. As his tennis sparring partner for that time was a wall.
Landed in Adelaide and tested positive. No symptoms and two negative results since testing positive. Respecting all the local covid protocols and training in my room but I have to work on my ball control, literally😂🥜 Thank you Tennis Australia for all the equipment! #badbounce pic.twitter.com/9ePxb2l6oc
— Sebastian Korda (@SebiKorda) January 6, 2022
The athlete himself commented on the situation this way: “It was kind of weird. I took the test two days before the trip, the day before the trip, and when I came to Australia, I found out it was positive. It got weird, but luckily there were no symptoms and Tennis Australia took good care of me. They provided me with equipment, so I wasn’t bored in my room – I could practice a little bit. Even played a little bit of tennis right in the room, so the feel of the ball stayed. I could move around the room, so it wasn’t bad. I was working with the physical therapist and the physical trainer by video link, just to do something and move around. But what I lacked was fresh air,” Korda summed up.
His opponent for the debut match at the Australian Open was very difficult – the current winner of the “Masters” in Indian Wells, the number 12 in the ATP ranking – Cameron Norrie.
Sebastian shared his impressions before the game: “There’s another interesting match ahead. Norrie had a great season, especially the end, showing good tennis. I hope we get a good match. He has a very difficult game, a lot of forward spin on the forehand and almost no backhand swing, two different styles of play. He’s also left handed. It’s always difficult to play against a left-handed player and he’s a great player,” Korda said.
He had a brilliant debut at the Australian Open, breaking early in the second game and winning the game. The second set was crucial – Sebastian totally dominated the court, winning the game 6-0. At this point Korda was doing just about everything: he was receiving and serving excellently, keeping up with all the balls and letting his opponent know that he was unstoppable on the evening. At the beginning of the third set he broke again and brought the game to a convincing victory, 6-3, 6-0, 6-4.
His next opponent will be Frenchman Corentin Moutet, who beat Lucas Pouille in the first round in four sets.
