Sebastian Korda lost a total of five games in his Washington second round match but afterward claimed Sebastian Baez wasn’t an easy opponent to handle. On Wednesday, Korda saw off Baez 6-1 6-4 to reach the Washington last-16 for the second year in a row.
Korda now has a 2-0 head-to-head versus Baez, having also beaten the Argentine at the Next Gen ATP Finals last year. “Definitely isn’t easy. He’s a great opponent. Super happy with the score and how I played today,” Korda said, per Sportskeeda.
Korda on the ‘next big thing in American tennis’ label
Korda, 22, is considered as one of the most promising and talented American players. Korda has one ATP title in his collection and he broke into the top-30 for the first time in his career this past May.
“I think it’s pretty cool to have the ability kind of be called, you know, the next big thing in American tennis,” Korda said. “We have a lot of great guys in American tennis that are coming up, and to be part of that group, it’s really special.
It’s motivating to do bigger, better things. And to be recognised as someone that has a chance to do some of those things, it’s pretty cool.” Korda’s father, Petr, is a former Grand Slam champion and he was also once the second- ranked player in the world.
Now, Sebastian Korda is aiming to follow in the footsteps of his father and win a Grand Slam. The younger Korda has had two notable Grand Slam runs as he has reached the second week at the French Open and Wimbledon. The United States haven’t had a male Grand Slam champion in nearly two decades – since Andy Roddick’s 2003 US Open triumph.
Going into this year’s US Open, Korda is aiming to finally clinch his first victory at Flushing Meadows. Korda suffered back-to-back US Open first round defeats in 2020 and 2021 and he will certainly be motivated to have a better campaign at Flushing Meadows this year.