Sebastian Korda will be playing in the 2023 Cinch Championships semifinals after besting home hero Cameron Norrie.
Without a doubt, the 22-year-old American is one of the most talented grass-court players when playing his best tennis. According to renowned coach Rick Macci, he will win Wimbledon one day, and even Patrick McEnroe named him a threat at the event.
But Korda has been away from the ATP Tour for a while after picking up an injury in the quarterfinal match against Karen Khachanov at the Australian Open. Since then, the American lost three matches, and won only one as he entered the grass-court season.
But that's the surface that suits Korda, and it didn't take long before it showed. First, he defeated Daniel Evans, then he outplayed Frances Tiafoe, and pumped after the win, he called himself one of the Wimbledon favourites.
Many considered the claim to be quite bold, but Korda proved them wrong in his next match as he took on the last Brit standing at the Queen's Club, the fifth-seeded Cameron Norrie. Previously, the two met three times, with the American winning two of the matches.
But Norrie won in the most recent meeting, and he wanted to bring the same intensity also to London. But Korda was the better player from the off. He had two break points already in the first game and after his opponent saved them, he created two more chances in the fifth game.
But this time, the American used his chances to get into a one-break lead. He wouldn't lose that and after 38 minutes, Korda won the first set 6-4, going into the remainder of the match with even more confidence.
The fourth-highest-ranked American started the second set well too, breaking his opponent's serve and leading 3-2. But Norrie immediately broke back, as both players were 100% on break points in the second set.
And that meant that it had to be decided in a tie-break. Showcasing the same kind of intensity as he's been showing during the whole match, Korda won it 7-1 to beat the Brit 6-4, 7-6(1), and book a semifinal spot at the 2023 Cinch Championships.
In the semifinals, he will have a chance to prove that he should be really considered as one of the Wimbledon favourites as he'll play against either former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov or the first-seeded Carlos Alcaraz. Speaking after the win, Korda was really happy.
"Yeah, massive, you know, I'm playing really well on grass, feeling comfortable, and I'm just really enjoying myself here, it's a pretty special place. As many matches as I can get, I'm always super happy, I played some good players this week, and had some really good wins. And everything's kind of clicking right now and I'm really enjoying it."
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