Korda first player to retire from singles match at 2023 Australian Open
ATP
Sebastian Korda became the first player to retire from a singles match at the 2023 Australian Open in the 242nd match played at the event.
The match was a highly-anticipated quarter-final showdown between two seeded players, Korda and in-form Karen Khachanov. The young American wanted to reach his first Grand Slam final, which he was only two steps away from, but his opponent and injury stopped him.
Khachanov was a better player in the first set despite losing a one-break advantage. The set was decided in a tie-break, and the Russian won it 7-5. He got a break in the second set again, and this time, he didn't lose it.
Khachanov also won the second set, 6-3, and wanted to win the match already in three sets. He won the first 10 points in the third set to quickly grab a 3-0 lead.
That's when Korda approached him during a changeover to announce that he wouldn't be able to continue in the match, retiring from the first men's singles quarter-final match at the 2023 Australian Open, which marked the first singles retirement at the event.
Korda explained that he picked up the injury already at the Adelaide International, and it started bothering him during the second set of the match against Khachanov again.
"I had it a little bit in Adelaide a couple weeks ago, but then it went away. During the matches, it was completely fine. Then just one kind of mishit return [early in the second set], and it started to bother me a lot of after that. Some forehands I couldn't even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me. So it was a little tough."
Khachanov became the first semi-finalist at the 2023 Australian Open, and he will await the third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jiri Lehecka. He should also improve by at least seven positions in the ATP Rankings, and in case of another win, he will move to the Top 10.
