Korda remains positive and aims high after Australian Open exit

Wednesday, 25 January 2023 at 01:15

Updated at Tuesday, 14 January 2025 at 19:37

byErik Virostko

Sebastian Korda might have won plenty of matches at the start of the new season, but it was cut short by an injury. Still, he remained positive.

The young American player started the new season by playing in the final of the Adelaide International against Novak Djokovic. The Serbian won the final match, but it was a proper battle that showed all of Korda's qualities.

He got to prove those during the first week of the Australian Open, but unfortunately for him, a wrist injury ended his tournament in the quarter-finals against Karen Khachanov.

It was a disappointing end of the tournament for the American player, but when speaking after his loss, he chose to focus on the positives.

"There are a lot of positives. Way more positives than negatives. Today was tough, but hopefully, it's nothing serious and I can take care of it, so I don't have it in the future."

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"[It was] still a great tournament [for me]. My first quarter-final in a Grand Slam. I'm going to go forward with my head high and keep working."

Korda admitted that he already felt his wrist in Adelaide, where he reached the final. However, since the pain then disappeared, he thought his wrist was already healthy, but it wasn't. That ultimately forced him to retire from his quarter-final match.

"I had it a little bit in Adelaide a couple weeks ago, but then it went away. During the matches [in Melbourne], it was completely fine. Then just one kind of mishit return, and it started to bother me a lot of after that."

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"I kind of knew what it was right away, right when I hit the return. I kind of felt that spot that I was feeling before. Some forehands I couldn't even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me. So it was a little tough."

Korda will now focus on the recovery, as his start of the new season certainly proved that he could be among the players challenging for Grand Slam titles. He will be hoping to be ready to compete at the Sunshine Double.

"Going forward, I'm going to keep on trying to do the same thing, keep on mentally being the same way. You know, I think I can do some really big things in the near future."