(Melbourne) American Sebastian Korda knocked out Russian Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (4) on Friday night in the third round of the Australian Open.
Son of Petr Korda, champion of this tournament in 1998, the 22-year-old Floridian, 29e seed, equaled his best performance at any of the four Grand Slam tournaments by reaching the fourth round.
Winner at the 2021 U.S. Open, seventh-ranked Medvedev was hoping to reach the final in Melbourne for a third consecutive year.
In 2021, Medvedev lost the ultimate match to Novak Djokovic and last year he lost to Rafael Nadal after winning the first two sets.
Korda’s victory comes on the heels of two other unexpected triumphs by Americans. On Wednesday, Mackenzie McDonald defeated the competition favorite Nadal, and on Thursday, Jenson Brooksby took the measure of second-placed Norwegian Casper Ruud. Now Korda has added her name to this list.
However, McDonald has since suffered elimination against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, as did his compatriot Frances Tiafoe, who lost in four sets against Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
“I have always been told how good a tennis player I could become. Now I surround myself with good people, I’m building a really strong team, and I trust the process,” said Korda, who received advice from eight-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi. in career, and Radek Stepanek, another former player.
“I’m growing as a person, as a player. I only try to do the right things. (You have to) have fun, savor the moment, and good things will happen,” added Korda, the 2018 junior champion in Australia.
On that Friday night at Aréna Rod-Laver, Korda was the one who largely dictated the pace of the game, placing the ball where he wanted it, heading to the net with brilliance and performing incisor volleys. He even allowed himself occasional amortizations.
Korda racked up almost twice as many winners as his opponent (50 to 28), and while he made several unforced errors, they ultimately didn’t hurt him too much.
“I had a bit of an idea of what I had to do. I followed (the plan) even though I had emotional ups and downs,” Korda admitted.
And what was that plan?
“To go all out,” he said, laughing.
Korda took the lead in each of the three sets with service breaks, each time on the first occasion Medvedev came on serve. After the match, Medvedev said his wrist and right forearm gave him trouble.
In the third set tiebreaker, Korda built a 6-1 lead and after a few missed opportunities ended the duel with a forehand winner.
In the next round, Korda will cross swords with Pole Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
In other men’s singles matches, Jannik Sinner of Italy rallied from a two-set deficit for the first time in his career and defeated Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-0, in 3 hours 33 minutes.
PHOTO DITA ALANGKARA, ASSOCIATED PRESS Jannik Sinner
Eliminated in the quarter-finals in Melbourne last year, Sinner will now do battle with Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas (no 3), who showed Tallon Griekspoor the way out in three sets of 6-2, 7-6 (5) , 6-3.
The 24-year-old Tsitsipas was eliminated in the semi-finals in Melbourne on three occasions.
Krejcikova and Pegula dominate
On the women’s side, Barbora Krejcikova became the first player to reach the fourth round following her 6-2, 6-3 victory over Anhelina Kalinina on the Aréna Rod-Laver court.
The Czech ranked 20e seeded won the first five games of the encounter and dominated her Ukrainian opponent. Krejcikova hasn’t dropped a set in three matches.
PHOTO WILLIAM WEST, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY Barbora Krejcikova
“I was happy I was able to get them, some of those games were close,” Krejcikova said of her early lead. From there, I tried to stay aggressive. »
American Jessica Pegula (#3) didn’t have to work very long to knock out Marta Kostyuk and advance to the fourth round.
Pegula, who has reached the quarter-finals in Melbourne the past two years, triumphed in straight sets 6-2, 6-0 in 65 minutes, setting the stage for a clash against Krejcikova.
“I think I just didn’t give away any free points,” Pegula said. I played aggressively when I had to, but also intelligently. I’m happy to be in the next round. »
American Danielle Collins, a runner-up in last year’s tournament, lost her flag 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybankina.
Later on Friday, women’s favorite Iga Swiatek edged Spain’s Cristina Bucsa 6-0, 6-1 in 55 minutes. American Coco Gauff defeated her compatriot Bernarda Pera in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Late in the evening, China’s Lin Zhu upset sixth-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece in three sets 7-6(3), 1-6, 6-4.
