Sebastian Korda (Bradenton, Florida, USA, 20 years old), Rafa Nadal's rival today (around 1pm, Eurosport) in the round of 16 at Roland Garros, has sport in his blood. His father Petr Korda, who was nicknamed the Mad Bird for his physical appearance and spiky hair, he was a successful Czech tennis player who in the 1990s won the Australian Open (1998), was a finalist at Roland Garros (1992) and number two in the world (1998). His mother, Regina Rajchrtova, was also a player, albeit less fortunate. And she has two older sisters who play professional golf on the LPGA: Nelly (22), number two in the world ranking, and Jessica (27), who is 22nd. With those genes, the good old Sebastian had no choice but to try to excel in some specialty. As a child, he tried ice hockey (he is a fan of the Boston Bruins), but after accompanying his father to the US Open in 2009, he opted for tennis.
In 2018, 20 years after his father triumphed in Melbourne, Sebastian won the junior title there. “It is very special to me. My main objective was to get the tournament to celebrate his 50th birthday”, said the boy, who made his professional debut that same year at the New York Open, although he was beaten by compatriot Frances Tiafoe in the first round. This year it fell in its premiere at the Western & Southern Open and that was until Paris all its baggage in ATP tournaments. At Roland Garros he got into the main draw after winning all three games in the previous one and before meeting Nadal he got down Andreas Seppi, John Isner and Pedro Martínez. He has no title in either ATP Challengers or ITF, although he has played many finals.
But Sebi, as he is nicknamed, was confident in his chances when he reached the French Grand Slam last month. So much that He bet with his coach and his fitness trainer that if he made it to the third round, they would both swim across the Prague Bridge. The joke happened during a dinner in the capital of the Czech Republic in which the former tennis player Radek Stepanek was, who will also have to put on his swimsuit. Korda Jr. loves to play on clay and his “biggest idol” is Nadal. “When I got older I named my cat Rafa in his honor, which says a lot about how much I love this boy. He is one of the reasons I play tennis, “he confessed on Friday after beating Martinez.” I'm a fighter just to see him play. He is an incredible competitor. It's just because of him that I have the mentality of never giving up. Whenever I play I try to be like him, “he added. Today he will face the Balearic Islands with nothing to lose.