Sebastian Korda reveals reasons for ritual of tapping his father Petr Korda and mentor Andre Agassi's pillars before Australian Open entry
American tennis sensation Sebastian Korda recently explained why he taps his father Petr Korda and mentor Andre Agassi's pillars before entering the Australian Open courts.
Korda earned one of the biggest wins of his career on Sunday (January 22) when he overcame 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz. He beat the Polish ace in five grueling sets to advance to the Australian Open quarterfinals.
The 29th seed reached the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career with a back-and-forth 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(10-7) victory over the Pole. He will next face Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals.
Following the win over Hurkacz, Sebastian Korda stated that he taps the pillars of his father Petr Korda, a former Australian Open champion, and his mentor Andre Agassi. He claimed that this ritual makes him feel as if they are with him in a way.
"No, every single time I walk by, I always give him like a little fist pump. Kind of makes me feel like they're with me in a way. I always know that they're watching. They're both very special for me. Yeah, they helped me a ton," Korda said.
"Maybe I was just trying to get the energy so I could hit my backhand a little better (smiling)," he added.
"Majority of my life, when I first started, was only clay court to me" - Sebastian Korda
Sebastian Korda went on to remark that his parents raised him in a different way and that he began playing tennis at the age of 10. This is late in comparison to other players who picked up the racquet when they were three, four, or five years old.
"My parents kind of brought me up in a different way. I also started playing tennis a lot later than most people. A lot of people here started tennis at three, four, five years old. I switched over when I was 10 years old," Korda said.
The American then revealed that for the majority of his childhood, he exclusively played on clay courts due to their availability right next to his house in Florida.
"I definitely have a different path compared to everyone else. But, yeah, we had a couple clay courts right next to our house. Majority of my life, when I first started, was only clay court to me," he added.