For Sebastian, bettering dad Petr Korda is a good first step

Petr is more at the forefront now, adding a coaching role to his daddy duties. “My dad has always been involved in my career and will continue to be. His experience is incredibly helpful and having him guide me is great,” Sebastian said.

Sebastian Korda has no qualms in saying that he wants to be a better tennis player than his father. That’s already quite a high benchmark—Petr is the 1998 Australian Open champion, 1992 French Open runner-up, a 20-time ATP title winner and a former world No. 2. But Sebastian’s young professional career so far suggests that the 20-year-old is making no audacious statement, or a cheeky one.

Sebastian Korda reacts. File (AFP)

Last August post the resumption of the tennis calendar, Sebastian qualified for his first ATP 1000 main draw at the Western & Southern Open in New York, losing in the first round there as well as at the US Open. It was followed by an incredible run at the French Open, where the then 213th-ranked Sebastian became the first qualifier to enter the Round of 16 since 2011 by booking a date with his idol Rafael Nadal. A month later, the American won his maiden professional title since turning pro in 2018, beating India’s Ramkumar Ramanathan in the final of the ATP Eckental Challenger. The trend of firsts has carried onto 2021—last month Sebastian entered an ATP Tour level final at the Delray Beach Open, while on Monday he broke the top-100 barrier, jumping to 88th in the ATP rankings after winning the ATP Quimper Challenger. That’s back-to-back Challenger titles, an ATP 250 final and 14 of the last 15 matches ending with a W.

OK? Wouldn’t a guy just out of his teens playing his first Grand Slam main draw, battling with Nadal in his Paris living room and winning his first professional trophy within a couple of months feel a touch overwhelmed? “The French Open was definitely a breakthrough for my results in a Grand Slam, but it is a process. The experience that I gained in the US Open was equally important. I really enjoyed the first title on the Challenger Tour. It is part of a process that I believe in and so was the French Open run. Now the process continues,” he said.

That’s a mature head on some inexperienced shoulders talking, and it’s not difficult to comprehend why. Sebastian grew up in Bradenton, Florida, in a family that had two top former professional tennis players as parents and two budding professional golfers as elder sisters. The kid’s early interest was set on ice hockey, until he tagged along with his father to watch Radek Stepanek—coached by Petr then—take on Novak Djokovic at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2009 US Open. “That’s when I decided to embark on a tennis dream,” Sebastian said.

The initial steps in pursuit of that dream, though, were more influenced by his mother Regina, a former WTA top-30 player, than his Czech Grand Slam champion father. “My mom was an excellent professional player as well. When my dad was on the golf course with my sisters, I played a lot with my mom. So the early developmental stages of my tennis were done with my mom. But my dad was never far behind,” Sebastian said.

Petr is more at the forefront now, adding a coaching role to his daddy duties. “My dad has always been involved in my career and will continue to be. His experience is incredibly helpful and having him guide me is great,” Sebastian said.

Part of the deal of being a kid of a successful sporting parent—or parents, in this case—is the increased spotlight and constant comparisons. For Sebastian, touted as one of the most promising NextGen talents on the Tour, it can only add to the expectations on him. And he knows that. “Of course there will be comparisons if you follow the footsteps of your parents, and their success will always be a comparison,” Sebastian said. “But we grew up with that, and my parents have been great in just offering us the opportunity to play all sports and supporting us in whatever we do. Of course I want to be better than my dad was, but so does every kid and probably every dad wants their child to be better than them—like maybe in any family. My sisters and I understand it, but we are trying to find our own path.”

His elder siblings Jessica, 27, and Nelly, 22, are both top level golfers and the biggest cheerleaders of their kid brother during his matches despite usually competing miles away. “We all have a great relationship. We help bring the best out in each other and long may that last. We are very lucky to have each other and the parents that we do. But we would be this way with each other even if we didn’t play professional sports. It is just the way we have been brought up,” Sebastian said.

Sebastian and his team, which also includes former Chilean tennis pro Patricio Apey as his manager, decided to give the Australian Open (where he won the junior title in 2018) qualifying a miss. They chose to get matches—victories, as it turns out—under his belt over the prospect of quarantining for 14 days in Melbourne to start the new season. Sebastian’s pre-season work included a two-week training stint with Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf in Las Vegas. “When I suddenly found myself on court with Andre, Steffi and my dad—there was so much Grand Slam experience that I just wanted to take it all in and enjoy the moment. Andre and Steffi were so nice to me and it was great to share that experience and practice in Las Vegas. They are truly great people,” Sebastian said.

Also in his list of greats is Nadal, someone he has emulated growing up and named his cat after. And Sebastian would soon get to experience the Spaniard’s beast mode on court during his 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the 2020 French Open. “Playing against Rafa was a dream come true for many reasons,” Sebastian said. “Firstly, I have always admired his game, his intensity and his on and off court behaviour. He is a true champion and a great example for any young player. I also named my cat after him so that shows how much of an influence he was for me as a youngster. Playing him was great, and I learned what it will take to compete at that level.”

Despite the early buzz surrounding him, Sebastian understands that it’s a patient progression to get to that level. “Professional tennis, as I understand it, is a process that can take time. I’m lucky that I have the time and am prepared to do all the hard work. I didn’t always understand this, but this is what I have learned. I love the game and I want to be the best that I can possibly be,” he said.