Sebastian Korda defeated two-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the third round of Australian Open 2023 on Friday. The 22-year-old from Florida, who is seeded 29th, is the son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr and counts eight-time major champion Andre Agassi as a mentor.
Korda equaled her best performance at any Grand Slam tournament by reaching the round of 16. No. 7 seed Medvedev won the US Open two years ago and made finals in Australia in 2021 when he lost to Novak Djokovic, and in 2022 when he lost to Rafael Nadal. The 26-year-old Medvedev from Russia has so far won 15 singles titles.
Medvedev’s performance in all four Grand Slams in 2022:
- Australian Open: Final
- French Open: Fourth Round
- Wimbledon: NA
- US Open: Fourth Round
The result follows two other eye-catching wins by players from the US, whose men last won a Grand Slam title 20 years ago. On Wednesday, Mackenzie McDonald defeated No. 1 seed Nadal. On Thursday, Jenson Bruxby defeated No. 2 seed Casper Ruud. And now it was Korda’s turn to add his name to the list.
“I knew what I had to do. I stuck with it, even when I was going up and down with the emotions,” Korda said. And how would he describe that game plan? “Just go for it,” he said, laughing.
(Inputs from PTI)