Korda Shows Fighting Spirit But Loses First Match Back After 3-Month Injury Lay Off
ATP
Sebastian Korda made his return to tennis for the first time in three months, and even though he fought hard, the American didn’t win upon his return.
The last time Korda played before this event was at the Australian Open, where he played really well, making the quarter-final at the opening Grand Slam tournament of the season. He didn't play quite as well as his father, Petr, who won the event many years ago, but Korda still impressed with wins over Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz.
Unfortunately, he had to take a break from tennis after that due to an injury that he sustained at the event, missing three months in total, with the Madrid Open being his first event back.
Despite the conditions being rather suitable for his game, Korda couldn't win his first match back. His opponent was Hugo Grenier of France, who is a tricky player with a good serve, which helped him in this match.
Korda lost his serve immediately and nearly went down a double break. He then broke back, with the players trading breaks once more before the opening set went into the tie-break. Korda missed out on a big chance up 4-3 when he wasted a couple of break points, which would have likely secured him the opening set.
In the tie-break, Korda fell behind 0-4, and he never quite battled back, even though he came close at 4-5. Grenier won the opening set in the tie-break, 7-5.
The second set opened well for both as they didn’t allow any chances. Korda even broke first for a 4-3 lead but then immediately lost his serve, which proved rather costly.
Another tie-break followed, with Grenier once again jumping out to a 4-0 lead. He then had a 6-3 lead but lost three points in a row to make it 6-6. In the end, Grenier held on to win the second tie-break 9-7, winning the match 7-6(5), 7-6(7).
