Whilst some tennis stars have been contesting for medals at the Olympics, Seb Korda has been busy finding some form and winning a title of his own.
Last week, the American player claimed glory at an ATP event in Washington, beating Jordan Thompson and compatriot Frances Tiafoe along the way.
Several thousands of miles away in France, Novak Djokovic was finally donning the gold medal around his neck.
He’s waited his entire career to get that prize within his grasp and after a 7-6, 7-6 win over Carlos Alcaraz he finally completed tennis.
Korda mentioned Djokovic in his post-match press conference following his win and it’s the Serbian who is responsible for his love of tennis.
What Seb Korda has said about Novak Djokovic
The American is still relatively raw and at 24-years-old he’s still waiting to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final.
After crashing out in the first round at Wimbledon, Korda will be looking to set the record straight when the US Open gets underway next month.
After winning in Washington, he was quizzed on the Djokovic win and he’s confirmed that he actually fell in love with tennis watching the Serbian.
He told Punto de Break: “My father coached Radek Stepanek and almost every summer we went with him to the US Open. That’s the reason I started to play tennis. I also played Ice Hockey and my parents told me, ‘you have to decide what you want to do because everything is too much’.
“I fell in love with tennis at the US Open. Radek faced Djokovic on the Arthur Ashe court, around 10 o’clock at night and it was packed with people. The atmosphere was insane.
“I returned home and decided it was the sport I wanted to pursue. Going to these tournaments, being around the guys, having fun here… that was the biggest key of my career, I realised how much I wanted to be a professional tennis player.”
Korda must take confidence into US Open after Washington win
It was a pretty tough field in the American capital last week and Korda can take a lot of heart from the win.
However, he has to start producing the goods at the tournaments when the field is even stronger and showcase what he can really do.
After winning in Washington he will want to really show what he can do at the US Open – a tournament where he’s yet to reach the third round.
Korda comes from a sporting family – with his sister a professional golfer – and he might be feeling the pressure to succeed in that sense.
Djokovic is a great player for him to have as an inspiration and hopefully, in the near future, Korda can enjoy a breakout tournament at one of the majors.
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