BREAKING NEWS: American hotshot Sebastian Korda is HUGE upset at being kicked out of 2022 finalist Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open – the 22-year-old reached the fourth round in Melbourne for the first time in his career
Sebastian Korda served up the most impressive win of his career to knock two-time Australian Open finalist Daniil Medvedev out.
The 22-year-old, who is ranked at No. 31 in the world, had never reached the fourth round in Melbourne before but it rarely looked in doubt after a commanding start with a 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 win ended.
Medvedev, who required a medical time-out early in the competition, struggled to find a rhythm that carried him to the finals in 2021 and 2022, with US hotshot Korda being reckless.
Sebastian Korda, 22, delivered the most impressive win of his career at the Australian Open
The 22-year-old American stunned former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev to win 7-6. 6-3, 7-6
Medvedev needed a medical time-out during a game in which he was overwhelmed
It was a thrilling opener that saw Korda take a 4-1 lead after two early breaks of serve.
Medvedev responded with two breaks of his own, forcing a thrilling tie break in the opener which, after much back and forth, saw Korda win 9-7 in an 85-minute set.
Korda had a 1-0 record against Russian high-flyer Medvedev before Friday morning and lost their only other meeting of 2021 at the Paris Masters.
Korda’s sensational slicing worked well against Medvedev, who likes to be at the back of the field
The Russian was at a loss for words as Korda took control after a tiebreak won in the first set
WHO STILL STANDS?
Men’s singles (third round)
Sebastian Korda (29) – BEAT Daniil Medvedev (7)
Mackenzie McDonald – LOST vs. Yoshihito Nishioka (31)
Frances Tiafoe (16) – LOST to Karen Khachanov (18)
Ben Shelton – plays the Australian joker Alexei Popyrin
And there are two other all-American duels: JJ Wolf meets Michael Mmoh and Tommy Paul meets Jenson Brooksby
Women’s Singles (Third Round)
Coco Gauff (7) – BEAT American Bernarda Pera
Jessica Pegula (3) – BEAT Marta Kostyuk
Madison Keys (10) – LOST to Victoria Azarenka (24)
Danielle Collins (13) – LOST to Elena Rybakina (22)
Katie Volynets (Q) – to play Shuai Zhang
The American’s slice play from deep on the baseline caused havoc for the hard-hitting Medvedev and Korda, despite his inexperience at slams, looked into the cruise control.
Playing with his opponent, he took a 3-0 lead in the second set, preventing a break point chance in the opening game of the second set.
Korda’s first serve became increasingly erratic – he only landed 52 per cent of them at that point – but he won the second set 6-3, one set away from a first-ever fourth-round appearance in Melbourne.
Korda looked poised for defeat as he led 4-0 in the third but he stumbled and Medvedev, a former world No. 1, responded and made it 4-4. Both men held to force a tie-break, but in the end the American stuck to his guns and scored the best win of his career.
Next he meets the Pole Hubert Hurkacz.
Despite a 4-0 win in the decider, Korda kept his cool and won a decider tie break to seal it
Korda comes from a sporting family and his father won the Australian Open two years before he was born
“Thanks for the atmosphere and support, you guys were amazing,” Korda said afterwards.
“It was an incredible match. I kind of knew what I had to do and I stuck with it when emotions went up and down. It’s an amazing game for me.’
When asked what his game plan was to fight Medvedev, who was dictating from the baseline, he simply added: “Just do it!”
He continued: “I love playing against Australia, my family loves playing against Australia so it’s super awesome.”
Korda comes from one of the biggest sports families, his father Petr won the Australian Open in 1998 and his sister Nelly won the Australian Open Golf. His mother was also a fabulous tennis player, while his other sister Jessica is also a star golfer.