With family ties, Korda heads to the fourth round
Major winner dad on hand to see his son advance while sisters achieve on course
When Sebastian Korda struck his last competitive shot as a 20-year-old — an overhead winner that closed out a third-round victory over Wimbledon’s No. 22 seed on Friday — the American raised both arms, then doubled over and rested his hands on his knees.
Up in a Centre Court guest box, the body language of his father, 1998 Australian Open champion Petr, was strikingly similar. Arms in the air, then leaning forward, reaching for the railing in front of his seat.
The younger Korda’s family bloodlines are serving him rather well at the moment. He is the son of two former professional tennis players — he credits his mother, Regina Rajchrtova, with teaching him to be calm on court — and the brother of two current stars in women’s golf — one of whom, Nelly, is ranked No. 1 and just won her first major — and is looking as if he very well could be the men’s tennis star his country has been awaiting for quite some time.
With an aggressive style that’s built for grass courts, Korda got past Britain’s Daniel Evans 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to become the youngest U.S. man to reach the round of 16 at All England Club since Andy Roddick got to the semifinals in 2003.
“Just felt incredibly comfortable,” Korda said. “And, yeah, it was perfect today.”
His father’s take? Essentially: Not so fast.
“It’s not over,” Dad said. “Let’s not celebrate until this is done.”
Wearing a black baseball hat and occasionally draping a white towel over his shoulders on the warmest day of the tournament so far, with the temperature rising toward the mid-70s, Petr was in a state of perpetual motion Friday. Any parent whose kids play sports at any level could relate, really, as he squirmed in his spot in the stands.
“It was nerve-wracking. I tell you, honestly, it’s easier to be on the golf course, because I can walk always,” he said, referring to watching his two daughters compete. “But with Sebi, I had to be sitting still, you know? That’s not easy.”
One tiny measure of how quickly his son is developing: He is only the eighth man since 2001 to reach the fourth round at both All England Club and Roland Garros before turning 21.
Of the other seven, four went on to be ranked No. 1 and win multiple Grand Slam titles: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Lleyton Hewitt. Another won one major (Marin Cilic), and the other two were Slam runners-up (Stefanos Tsitsipas, still only 22 himself, and Tomas Berdych).
Roddick’s triumph at the 2003 U.S. Open remains the most recent Grand Slam singles title for an American man, the longest drought in history for a nation that produced Bill Tilden, Arthur Ashe, John Mcenroe, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
On Monday, Korda’s 21st birthday, he’ll face No. 25 seed Karen Khachanov, a Russian who eliminated Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. in straight sets.
Other men’s fourth-rounders: No. 1 Djokovic against No. 17 Cristian Garin, No. 5 Andrey Rublev against Marton Fucsovics and No. 8 Roberto Bautista Agut against No. 10 Denis Shapovalov, who ended Andy Murray’s first Wimbledon singles appearance since 2017 by defeating the two-time champion 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
Women’s matchups on Monday: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. No. 18 Elena Rybakina, No. 7 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 21 Ons Jabeur, No. 8 Karolina Pliskova vs. Liudmila Samsonova and No. 23 Madison Keys vs. Viktorija Golubic.