Young American Sebastian Korda secures his spot in a first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal as he survives the grueling tiebreak in the fifth set to beat No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz at the Australian Open
American rising star Sebastian Korda has reached the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of his young career after battling through a five-set thriller to beat Poland’s No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old from Florida went into the match as a huge underdog but found himself winning two sets to one and having a brilliant chance to seal the win.
He lost the fourth set 6-1 and then looked on course for a heartbreaking defeat after losing momentum, but an upside-down duel finally ended in his favor after a grueling tie-break in the decider.
Sebastian Korda of USA celebrates after defeating Hubert Hurkacz of Poland
The young American showed raw emotion after winning a fifth-set tie break in Melbourne
It was a heartbreaking loss for Hurkacz, who won the third and fourth sets to force a fifth
Korda previously only got through to the fourth round of a Grand Slam in Australia, France and at Wimbledon, but this time he managed to go one better and finish the game 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1- 6, 7-6 (10-7).
His win over Hurkacz was followed by a third-round win over 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who had reached the final at Melbourne Park in each of the previous two years.
Korda’s father, Petr, won the championship at the 1998 tournament. Korda’s mother was also a professional tennis player and his two older sisters play professional golf.
In the quarterfinals, the US star meets number 18 Karen Khachanov, who defeated Yoshihito Nishioka to secure his place in the last eight.
Korda, 22, stretches to reach the ball in his fourth-round game against Hurkacz
The young American proved Hurkacz (pictured) just too much in five tough sentences
Korda was cheered on in his players’ box by his coach, former world No. 8 Radek Stepanek (R).