Sebastian Korda is protecting his playing cards near his chest 12 months after he declared he was one of many “favourites” at Wimbledon. The American is a talented grass-court participant however his feedback blew up in his face final yr when he misplaced within the first spherical on the All England Membership.
This yr, Korda goes into Wimbledon filled with kind. He reached the ultimate in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and the semi-final at Queen’s, reaching a career-high rating of No. 20 because of this.
However he says he has realized from final yr’s assertion and instructed Specific Sport that he wouldn’t be tipping himself for giant issues at SW19 this time round.
“Yeah, no. I’m not saying it anymore. Not after final yr,” Korda laughed. “It was undoubtedly a studying expertise there. Powerful opponent as nicely first spherical however simply hold placing within the laborious work and see what occurs.”
After falling on the first hurdle to Jiri Vesely in 2023, he can be taking issues round-by-round at Wimbledon this yr. The 23-year-old added: “I’m fairly laborious on myself however simply hopefully play one match at a time and hopefully have some good weeks there.”
Korda has modified his tune after making a defiant assertion on the Queen’s Membership 12 months in the past. On the time, he mentioned: “I am very assured in myself on a grass courtroom. I transfer rather well, I undoubtedly have a recreation that not very many individuals have. I am an aggressive participant, like to come back to the web, I’ve good palms. I undoubtedly really feel as if I am one of many favourites at Wimbledon.”
His remark raised eyebrows instantly and issues went from dangerous to worse when he didn’t win a match at Wimbledon simply a few weeks later. Nevertheless it’s no shock that Korda believed in himself on the grass courts in SW19 as he has proved himself to be a darkish horse on the floor.
And he isn’t the one American man having fun with success on the grass. Korda beat Tommy Paul throughout his run to the ’s-Hertogenbosch ultimate however Paul bought revenge per week later at Queen’s, defeating his countryman within the semis and happening to elevate the title. Taylor Fritz can be an completed grass participant, attending to the singles quarter-final and the doubles ultimate final week.
Whereas some gamers aren’t comfy on the floor, Korda shared his principle for the American grass-court success. “I feel all of us serve fairly nicely so any time you’ve got a giant serve on the grass it’s undoubtedly a giant assist and simply taking part in quite a lot of matches, quite a lot of tournaments,” he defined.
Whereas Korda is staying coy about his Wimbledon probabilities, he does have one thought concerning the draw – he doesn’t wish to see Andy Murray or Novak Djokovic pull out. Each males are battling their very own damage points and have undergone surgical procedure in latest weeks. They usually aren’t 100 per cent on whether or not they are going to play.
“It undoubtedly can be totally different [if they don’t play],” he mentioned. “It was undoubtedly totally different when Fed retired and Rafa is just not round an excessive amount of and it’ll be one thing totally different for positive. I’ve grown up watching Novak, Andy, Rafa and Roger my total life. For me, these have been the blokes once I began moving into tennis they have been the very best on the planet and hopefully Andy is wholesome and able to go for Wimbledon and Novak as nicely.”