Sebastian Korda has opened up about the challenges of his long-term injury lay-off and the valuable time spent with new trainer, Jez Green.
Korda's early 2023 season was disrupted by injury when he withdrew in the Australian Open quarter-final against Karen Khachanov. Ultimately, the injury ruled the 22-year-old for much of the first half of the season, until he recently returned to action at the Madrid Open, before competing at the Italian Open and Roland Garros.
Despite some struggles on clay, Korda has shown decent early form on grass as he defeated Dan Evans in the first round of the 2023 Cinch Championships, before eliminating top-ten player Frances Tiafoe in the next round. After his victory over Tiafoe, Korda said, although he is not 100% yet, he feels good after getting some match practice ahead of Wimbledon.
"Definitely was the first time I have ever been injured for a long period of time, so definitely learned a lot from it, but it was very tricky for me. Even still now I still have a couple of issues I'm not very comfortable with, but, you know, matches like these will just only prepare me and hopefully some good matches coming up next."
Whilst he was recovering from injury, Korda started working with trainer Green, who has also supported British players Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu. When asked about the impact Green has had on Korda's physical development, the 22-year-old explained the trainer has added invaluable knowledge on how to prepare physically for big matches.
"Yeah, I have been with Jez basically since I got from Australia. We did kind of seven or eight good weeks, probably the longest block that I or Jez have ever done in our lives. It was a lot of fun getting to know Jez a little bit. Definitely a huge addition to my team, building the body for Grand Slam tennis, and just a great person to have on my team as well."
"Yeah, I have gained a few kilos since Australia and just kind of grow into my body. I was very skinny, very tall. You know, the more matches I play, the more difficult, more sore here and there, but I think kind of the expertise of Jez is really just build the body, and so far I'm very happy with everything."
0 Comments