Golfer Jessica Korda takes pride in brother Sebastian's epic 4R win against Hubert Hurkacz in Australian Open 2023
Jessica Korda is lost for words after her brother Sebastian Korda's dream run continued at the Australian Open on Sunday (January 22). The 22-year-old recovered from a set down to beat tenth seed Hubert Hurkacz in a fifth set supertiebreak to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Fresh off downing two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in the previous round, Korda made a slow start against Hurkacz on Rod Laver Arena, as the Pole drew first blood. Korda, though, turned the contest on its head, conceding only five games to take a two-sets-to-one lead.
Hurkacz fought back, taking the fourth set 6-1, to force a decider. The Pole was on the cusp of victory, eking out two break points at 5-5, but Korda held firm. In the ensuing tiebreak, it was Korda's turn to blink, squandering a comfortable six-point lead. However, the 29th seed regrouped, blasting a backhand pass down the line to move into the last eight.
Following the American's victory, Korda's elder sister, Jessica, a professional golfer, tweeted:
"Hilarious if anyone thinks I can fall asleep after that"
Hilarious if anyone thinks I can fall asleep after that 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
Sebastian Korda is only the third American male - after Tennys Sandren (twice) and Frances Tiafoe - to make the Australian Open last eight since Andy Roddick did so in 2010.
Sebastian Korda thrilled to reach Australian Open 2023 quarterfinals
Sebastian Korda's joy knows no bounds after he edged out Hubert Hurkacz in a five-set thriller that had its fair share of ebbs and flows.
After his stunning straight-set win over Medvedev in the previous round, Korda showed that he could go the distance, hanging tough in the key moments to beat the 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist.
The drama reached a crescendo after four fairly straightforward sets, but it was Korda who lived to fight another day at the expense of Hurkacz.
There's nothing like staying cool to make your first Grand Slam quarterfinal 😎
@bondisands • #bondisands • #AusOpen • #AO2023
@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis https://t.co/hhiewfW3qH
Korda said in his on-court interview about the difficulty of the contest and his happiness to get the job done:
"It was difficult but I'm very happy with the way I kind of just stayed down, kept going through it."
The 29th seed will next take on Karen Khachanov on Tuesday (January 24) for a place in the semifinals. Korda leads Khachanov 2-1 in their head-to-head, but it was the Russian who won the pair's lone Grand Slam meeting in five sets in the Wimbledon fourth round two years ago.