Wimbledon 2021: Dan Evans vs Sebastian Korda preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match Details
Fixture: Dan Evans (22) vs Sebastian Korda
Date: 2 July 2021
Tournament: The Championships, Wimbledon
Round: Third Round (Round of 32)
Venue: London, Great Britain
Category: Grand Slam
Surface: Grass
Prize money: £17,066,000
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel & ESPN | UK - BBC TV & Radio | India - Star Sports / Disney+ Hotstar VIP
Dan Evans vs Sebastian Korda preview
Dan Evans takes on America's Sebastian Korda on Friday for a place in the Wimbledon fourth round.
Evans, the 22nd seed, has had a strong 2021 campaign so far. He won his first career singles title in Melbourne, and has put together a 14-11 record for the season.
Evans arrived at the grass-court Major on the back of quarterfinal appearances at the Nottingham Challenger and Queen's. The Brit then beat both Feliciano Lopez and Dusan Lajovic in straight sets to make the Round of 32 at Wimbledon for the third time in his career.
Meanwhile, the much younger Sebastian Korda has himself had an impressive 20-9 start to the year. The 20-year-old, like Evans, won his first career singles title (Parma) this year.
Making his debut at Wimbledon, Korda knocked out 15th seed Alex de Minaur in the first round and Antonine Hoang in the next to set up the clash with Evans.
Dan Evans vs Sebastian Korda head-to-head
Dan Evans and Sebastian Korda haven't met on the tour before, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Dan Evans vs Sebastian Korda prediction
Dan Evans will start this match as the favorite on paper given his superior grass-court pedigree and better recent form on the surface.
Evans has won 15 of his 31 singles matches on grass, as opposed to Korda's tally of just four. The American, in fact, played his first grasscourt match in Halle two weeks ago.
Dan Evans plays his best tennis on grass, but in a recent interaction with Mats Wilander he acknowledged the unique challenge of playing on the surface.
"A lot of people think it is easier, but it goes so fast," Evans said. "It's difficult, less time to think, less chance to play; there's more variation. Few and far between but you still need to play your game, come to net, which I really enjoy doing. Serving and setting up the chance to come in."
Korda, meanwhile, is regarded as one of the best American prospects in quite some time. He generates a lot of effortless power off the ground, and while he may be a greenhorn on grass, he has already shown he can be effective on it.
Son of former Australian Open winner and World No. 2 Petr Korda, Sebastian would love to make it a week to remember for the Korda family by continuing his giant-killing act at Wimbledon. His elder sister, Nelly, won her first Major title in the Women's PGA Championship two days before Sebastian beat Di Minaur.
Korda, who made the fourth round at Roland Garros last year, would look to ride on his momentum and trouble Evans on Friday. But the Brit, egged on by a partisan crowd, should be expected to win this one.
Prediction: Dan Evans to win in four sets.