The Korda family's love affair with Australia: Sebastian Korda reaches Australian Open QF 25 years after his father Petr Korda won the tournament
The Korda family seems to have a special association with Australia as Sebastian Korda booked his place in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open, 25 years after his father Petr won the tournament.
The World No. 31 reached the last eight of a Grand Slam for the first time in his career, beating 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(7). Sebastian Korda's achievement comes more than two decades after his father won his only Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.
Petr Korda was seeded sixth in the 1998 edition of the tournament and won it after beating Marcelo Rios 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the final. It was the only Grand Slam of his career, having previously reached the final of the French Open in 1992.
Sebastian Korda previously won the boys' singles title at the 2018 Australian Open, beating Tseng Chun-hsin 7-6(6), 6-4 in the final.
22yo Sebastian Korda gets another big win, beats #11 Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(10-7) in 3h28 to reach the QFs of a Grand Slam for the first time at the #AusOpen.
25 years after the title of his father Petr. Great moment. https://t.co/9aOGCzvS9D
The Korda family's love affair with Australia isn't limited to just tennis as Sebastian Korda's sisters Jessica and Nelly have both won golf tournaments held in the nation. Jessica Korda won the 2012 Women's Australian Open in Melbourne while Nelly Korda won the 2019 edition of the tournament in Grange.
Sebastian Korda will face Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open
After edging out Hurkacz, Korda will next face 18th seed Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Australian Open. The Russian reached his first quarterfinal at the Asia-Pacific Major by beating 31st seed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-0, 7-6(4).
Korda and Khachanov will lock horns for the fourth time, with the American leading 2-1 in the head-to-head. The two faced one another twice during the 2022 season and Korda won both matches in straight sets. The American beat Khachanov 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters before triumphing 7-5, 7-6(9) in the second round of the European Open in Antwerp.
Korda has been in really good form since the turn of the new year, winning eight out of nine matches so far. He previously beat Cristian Garin, Yosuke Watanuki and former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev before his hard-fought win over Hubert Hurkacz in Melbourne.
As of now, Korda will reach a career-high ranking of World No. 25 but he could break into the top 20 of the ATP rankings if he beats Khachanov in the quarterfinals.