One of the biggest stories from the 2023 Australian Open has been the success of the American tennis players in singles. A total of 14 Americans (eight men and six women) qualified for the third round.
History was made on Friday when the 29th seed Sebastian Korda of Bradenton, Florida upset the seventh seed and 2021 United States Open champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 in the third round of the 2023 Australian Open. According to ESPN, this was the first time that three different American men knocked out a top-10 player at a single grand slam tournament. In the second round, Mackenzie McDonald of Piedmont, California, beat two-time Australian Open champion and first seed Rafael Nadal of Spain 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. Also in the second round, Jenson Brooksby of Sacramento, California defeated world number two Casper Ruud of Norway, 6-3, 7-5, 6-7, 6-2.
Next up for Korda in the fourth round is the 10th seed, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland. Hurkacz beat Korda in their only prior meeting, 6-3, 6-3 in the 2021 final of Delray Beach. McDonald meanwhile lost to Yoshito Nishioka of Japan in the third round, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Friday. Brooksby faces fellow American Tommy Paul in the third round on Saturday. Paul beat Brooksby in their only prior encounter, 6-3, 6-2 in the first round of Cincinnati in 2022.
Sebastian Korda comes from a remarkable sports family. His older sisters Jessica and Nelly are on the LPGA Tour. Nelly is the reigning Olympic gold medalist from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, former world number one in women’s golf, and the 2021 Women’s PGA Championship winner. Meanwhile, Sebastian’s father Petr Korda was a great tennis player himself as he won the 1998 Australian Open while representing Czechoslovakia. There he beat Marcelo Rios of Chile, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
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