Being aware that he has all the qualities to aim high is an important element for a young tennis player like Sebastian Korda, who has already proven himself. The 22-year-old from Bradenton, Florida is one of the most promising players on tour and is one of the prospects that the United States hopes will restore prestige to the entire Stars and Stripes tennis movement, which has not seen one of its representatives winning a Slam since Andy Roddick in 2003 at the US Open.
In an interview granted to the German tennis portal Tennis Magazin, Korda stated that he feels ready to beat the best players in the world, as he already said in his match against Rafael Nadal in Indian Wells last March, in which he lost, but not without giving battle to his idol: “Among the old American players I have always liked Andy Roddick, but my idols since childhood were Rafael Nadal, Radek Stepanek and Marat Safin.
In Indian Wells I was about to beat Rafa, it was a good experience for me, he showed me that I could compete against any player in the world. Now the goal is to beat them. To win Grand Slam tournaments I still have to improve in many aspects: footwork, speed of shots, etc.”
Born and raised in a family of athletes, Sebastian Korda could only excel in one discipline, which turned out to be tennis. The young Sebastian tried to follow in the footsteps of his parents, both former tennis players. His mother, Regina Rajchrtová (also known as Regina Kordová), only has one doubles title to her name, but reached 26th place in 1991.
Much luckier was the career of her father Petr, winner of the Australian Open in 1998 and former world number 2.
Nadal’s schedule is uncertain
During an interview with the Madrid media AS, Toni Nadal brushed off several current topics related to Rafael Nadal.
When the journalist asked him if the presence of Carlos Alcaraz took the pressure off his nephew, the Spanish coach did not hesitate before answering. “I don’t think Rafael thinks about that at all. Rafael plays for himself, he doesn’t play wondering if Carlos Alcaraz, David Ferrer or even Djokovic are there.
My nephew plays accepting the presence of one or the other knowing that he is a difficult opponent,” said Toni, the day after a historic day for Spanish sport with the presence of Alcaraz and Nadal. to the first two places in the world in the ATP rankings.
