Sebastian Korda played a really solid match at the 2024 Dubai Championships recently, which was important for him because tempers flared.
The match itself was a spectacular demonstration of how devastating Korda can be when everything in his game is clicking. The courts in Dubai play exactly how Korda likes them, and he showed everybody by smashing Pavel Kotov 6-0 in the opening set of his first-round match.
The start of the second set featured an interesting situation, which Korda wasn't happy about because Kotov hit him with the ball. The Russian obviously won the point immediately as the ball touched Korda per the rules but still continued to play, seemingly not realizing that he actually hit him.
He did apologize for the ball flying directly towards Korda, who was certainly not impressed with it. It's understandable because nobody really wants to be hit, especially since this ball came dangerously close to Korda's head.
That being said, the strategy itself is perfectly valid and is used in both amateur tennis and professional tennis. Body shots or aiming at the player is quite common in doubles, and while not many singles tennis players utilize the tactic, it's again not against the rules.
It's still somewhat frowned upon because of the implications and because most players are not happy when they are hit, but again, as controversial as it might have looked, Kotov did nothing wrong per the rules.
It didn't really impact the match either, as Korda was able to finish it off in two sets. The final score was 6-0 6-2, so the American certainly got the last laugh and the money for winning the match.
There won't be any fines for Kotov, obviously, as he didn't do anything against the rules. What do you think? Check it out below and let us know what you think of it.
Kotov's body shot at Korda
byu/jovanmilic97 intennis
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