Sebastian Korda has secured a spot in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open by defeating Diego Schwartzman in the fourth round.The win was the young American’s first against a top-10 opponent on the ATP Tour and takes him to his first ever Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Tennishead looks at five things you should know about the 20-year-old American.1) Korda won the junior title at the Australian Open in 2018Korda beat Taiwanese player Tseng Chun-hsin in the final aged 17. That same year, he made his main draw debut in New York, losing to fellow American Frances Tiafoe in three sets.2) Training with Agassi and GrafBack in December 2020, Sebastian Korda spent some time in Las Vegas, hitting and training with tennis power couple Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.
‘I was on court a couple of times with Steffi, I didn’t want to play with her, I was way too intimidated by her,’ Korda said in a virtual press conference, humbled by the experience.
‘Her forehand crosscourt was just killing me so I was like ‘I can’t do this anymore.
‘She was incredible, she would give me some tips on the court and the energy that she brings every single day, you just knew that she was such a competitor.’
¡Qué entrenadores de lujo tiene Sebastian Korda en esta pretemporada! Nada más y nada menos que, ¡el mismísimo Andre Agassi y Steffi Graf! 🤯👏💥 pic.twitter.com/iviACMX0Xq
3) Following in the footsteps of his father Sebastian Korda is striving to emulate his father, Petr Korda, who was runner-up at Roland Garros in 1992, and won the Australian Open in 1998.
Petr Korda reached a career high ranking of No. 2 in February 1998. and now coaches his 20-year-old progeny.4) Korda had not won a Masters 1000 match before the Miami OpenThe world No. 87 had not won a single main draw match at Masters 1000 level before this year’s Miami Open.
Korda lost in qualifying at Indian Wells 2018 and Cincinnati 2019, before making the main draw at Cincinnati 2020. He then lost to fellow youngster Emil Ruusuvuori 6-7 6-4 5-7 in the Round of 64.5) Korda became youngest American to reach the fourth-round of a Grand Slam since 1991The 20-year-old American made history at Roland Garros 2020. In reaching the fourth round, he became the youngest American to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam since Michael Chang at Roland Garros in 1991, nearly 30 years earlier.
