Sebastian Kord became the first player to retire from a singles match at the 2023 Australian Open in the 242 match played at the event.
The match was a highly-anticipated quarterfinal showdown between two seeded players, Korda and in-form Karen Khachanov. The young American wanted to reach his first Grand Slam final, 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 won also the second set, 6-3, and wanted to win the match already in three. He won the first 10 points in the third set to quickly grab a 3-0 lead, when Korda approached him during a changeover to announce, that he won't be able to continue in a match.
"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 semifinalist 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.
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