Sebastian Korda beat two-time runner-up Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the third round of the 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 champ Andre Agassi as a mentor.
Korda equaled his best showing at any Grand Slam tournament by reaching the round of 16. The No. 7-seeded Medvedev won the U.S. Open two years ago and made it to the final in Australia in 2021 when he lost to Novak Djokovic, and in 2022 when he lost to Rafael Nadal. Medvedev, the 26-year-old from Russia has won 15 singles titles so far.
Medvedev's Performance in all four Grand Slams in 2022:
- Australian Open: Final
- French Open: 4th Round
- Wimbledon: NA
- US Open: 4th Roun
This result comes on the heels of two other attention-grabbing victories by players from the U.S., whose men last won a Grand Slam title 20 years ago. On Wednesday, Mackenzie McDonald beat No. 1 seed Nadal. On Thursday, Jenson Brooksby beat No.2 seed Casper Ruud. And now it was Korda's turn to add his name to the list.
“I kind of 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 with a laugh.
(Inputs from PTI)
