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Sebastian Korda, 22, refused to be negative after a heartbreaking end to his Australian Open campaign as he is now confident he "can do some really big things in the near future." Korda, who will be turning 23 in July, defeated Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz en route to reaching his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the Australian Open.
On Monday, Karen Khachanov had a 7-6 (5) 6-3 3-0 lead when a wrist injury forced Korda to put an end to their quarterfinal match at Melbourne Park. "A lot of confidence now. I have always been very close to winning the big matches, but now I'm getting through them.
I think that's a huge lesson I have been learning. Going forward, I'm going to keep on trying to do the same thing, keep on mentally being the same way. I think I can do some really big things in the near future," Korda said, per the Australian Open website.
Why Korda retired against Khachanov?
After the match was over, Korda revealed that he did feel some wrist pain in his first tournament of the year in Adelaide. Korda's wrist wasn't causing him any trouble in his first four Australian Open matches but then the pain reappeared against Khachanov.
"I don't know what it really is. I had it in Adelaide and then it went away completely. Now it just came back out of nowhere. Some forehands I couldn't even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me. So it was a little tough.
See a doctor right after this and figure out more," Korda explained after the match. Anyway, it was a great Australian Open run for Korda. In the third round, Korda beat two-time Australian Open finalist Medvedev in straight sets.
After upsetting Medvedev, Korda also clinched a notable win over 11th-ranked Hubert Hurkacz. It remains to be seen how will Korda do in the remaining Grand Slam tournaments in 2023.