The American renaissance continues unabated at the Australian Open after Sebastian Korda stepped up in the clinches to eliminate Hubert Hurkacz and reach his first major quarter-final.
Suddenly, the chance of a unique family double looms larger, with Korda junior right in the mix to match the achievement of his father, Petr Korda, who won at Melbourne Park 25 years ago.
Sebastian Korda celebrates after defeating Hubert Hurkacz.Credit:AP
There’s a bolter in the men’s final eight, too, after Czech Jiri Lehecka eliminated Canadian world No.7 Felix Auger-Aliassime in a tough four-setter.
Korda junior’s draining 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) victory over 10th-seed Hurkacz means there’ll be at least two and possibly three Americans in the final eight at Melbourne Park.
Before this edition of the Australian Open, only two Americans had made the quarter-finals since the ever-reliable Andy Roddick did it for the fifth and final time in 2010. Tennys Sandgren (2018 and 2020) and Frances Tiafoe (2019) stepped up for the stars and stripes in recent times.
In an engrossing match that went three-and-a-half hours on centre court, Korda was noticeably composed in the final set 10-point tie-breaker to get his nose in front when it counted.
Korda beat tough Chilean Cristian Garin, Japanese qualifer Yosuke Watanuki, two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev and Hurkacz to reach a quarter-final match-up with Russia’s Karen Khachanov, but he’s riding a wave of momentum that could be hard to stop.
Sebastian Korda stretches for the ball against Hubert Hurkacz.Credit:AP
Countrymen Ben Shelton and J.J. Wolf meet in one fourth-round match on Monday, guaranteeing a second American in the quarters, but they could also be joined by Tommy Paul, who clashes with tough Spaniard Robert Bautista Agut.
Should the seeded Bautista Agut drop out on Monday, it would ensure an unseeded American – Shelton, Wolf or Paul – are in the semi-finals.
Korda slipped up in the fourth set, dropping it 6-1, but rallied impressively against Hurkacz to force the match to a deciding tie-breaker.
“I couldn’t have done it without you guys,” Korda said on court. “I wasn’t feeling too much energy towards the fourth and the fifth [sets] but you guys really picked me up.
“I just tried to stay as calm as I possibly could. I’m very happy with the way I stayed ‘down’ [and kept my composure].”
On Margaret Court Arena, Lehecka defeated the talented Auger-Aliassime, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3) in three hours and 13 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime’s exit before the Open’s second week adds weight to those who subscribe to ‘Netflix curse’ beliefs.
Jiri Lehecka downs Felix Auger-Aliassime.Credit:AP
All leading players who featured in the first series of Break Point, including Nick Kyrgios, Ajla Tomljanovic, Matteo Berretiini, Maria Sakkari and Auger-Aliassime aren’t going deep in Melbourne this year.
Lehecka will next play the winner of Sunday night’s much-anticipated clash between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner.
World No.20 Khachanov was the other player to surge to the quarters on Sunday, but his fourth round was in sharp contrast to Korda’s win.
Khachanov won in straight sets in a horribly lopsided but equally quirky match against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.
Nishioka won only two points in the second set against Khachanov, losing 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (7-4).
The little-known Nishioka was staring at an unenviable spot in tennis history when down two sets to love after just 46 minutes on court.
Karen Khachanov was too good for japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka.Credit:AP
Despite his dominance, Khachanov was relieved to get through the clash – a match he described as “not a common one” – after being pushed in the third set.
“Nothing to complain, right? I was winning 14 games in a row,” said Khachanov. “It’s tough to say what’s happening. Obviously, I played well. Maybe he didn’t in some situations, you know, but it’s tennis.
“I remember myself in that situation, it was weird. Also last year in Rome I won first set against Tsitsipas, 6-4, and then suddenly I was losing 6-0, 2-0, and I’m like, ‘how I cannot win one game with my serve and everything’.”
Nishioka said “this is a little bit strange match for me”.
“I have many pressure on my service game every time. But I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on that first two sets,” he said.
“I was thinking I had to do something different. Then, you know, just try fight. After two sets I lost, I was actually, you know, I was still believing I can coming back from the moment, and so I started just grinding against him.”
