The District has always been a place close to Sebastian Korda’s heart, growing up coming to the D.C. Open as a ball boy for his father, Petr, when he played here in the 1990s.
“Just coming to these tournaments, being around the guys, having just a lot of fun around here, was the biggest key to my career, realizing how badly I wanted to be a professional tennis player,” he said.
The elder Korda won the D.C. title in 1992. Now, Sebastian has written his name into tennis history right alongside his dad.
Korda came back from a set down to beat Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-2, 6-0, on Sunday, winning the biggest title of his career and creating the first father-son duo to win the same tournament in ATP Tour history.
“I mean, I cried a little bit. Yeah, it was pretty emotional,” Korda said. “So many times I’ve practiced or played on center court here, and you see my dad in ’92 [on the stadium facade] always right across from where you sit down. It’s pretty cool to finally put my name up there, as well.”
The title is the second for Korda in eight ATP finals and vaults him to the highest ranking of his career — No. 18 — when the new list is released Monday. He also becomes the first American man to with the Washington title since Andy Roddick in 2007.
“Really just trying to enjoy the moment [is] really kind of where I am. I’ve been getting so lost and putting so much pressure on myself, I guess in a way caring too much,” Korda said. “Just constantly having tennis on my mind. If I’m not doing well, being in a bad mood, and just trying to really change that around.”
From one of the more notable athletic families in America, Korda’s parents weren’t able to make it up from his hometown of Bradenton, Florida, which is currently being battered by Tropical Storm Debby, and his sisters are professional golfers, with world No. 1 Nelly preparing for the Olympic golf tournament in France.
“As soon as I won and I sat down in the chair, yeah, I just looked up there, just thought about my dad, my whole family, just how proud they always say they are of me,” Korda said. “Just really cool to put my name up there, as well.”
Cobolli was the No. 10 seed in the District, playing in the biggest match of his career and the first time on the main court at a tournament. He broke Korda at 5-4 to take the first set, much in the same way he broke No. 2 Ben Shelton in their semifinal match Saturday.
Korda, the fourth seed, rebounded strongly in the second, breaking the Italian twice and displaying the collected, powerful groundstrokes that had propelled him to victory all week.
The deciding set became a quick coronation, with Cobolli appearing out of gas and broken thrice after a week of battles, including saving five match points in the third round against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He entered the week a career-high 48th in the ATP rankings, but will vault 15 places to No. 33 after his D.C. run.
“He’s got a really tricky serve. He tosses it super far behind him. You don’t really know what he’s going to do with it,” Korda said. “He’s such an explosive player, incredibly fast. When he’s feeling fresh, he’s incredibly dangerous.”
“We played in Rome as well this year. A tough three-setter, and now again with a three-setter. Luckily for me, I guess he was feeling a little tired from all the hours that he spent on court here.”
Korda himself faced two match points in a three-set third-rounder against Thanasi Kokkinakis, surviving them and advancing when the Australian retired due to fatigue.
“I was about a couple inches from being on a plane to Montreal, honestly. In a way, I got super lucky against Thanasi, and then just kind of stuck with it, kept rolling with it, tried to stay positive.”
He did, and it propelled him to a career-defining moment.
“My parents were really big on allowing us to really do what we want, and allowing us to really discover what we love to do. I’m forever grateful for my parents for allowing all of us to just really find out what we want to do,” Korda said. “Luckily for me, tennis was my love growing up, and here I am in Washington with a trophy.”
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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