Wimbledon 2021: Sebastian Korda on family dynasty and preparing to face Dan Evans

Posted by Chauncey Koziol on Thursday, August 15, 2024

On Wednesday, he beat French qualifier Antoine Hoang in the second round and will face British number one Dan Evans on Friday on Centre Court.

He only made his Grand Slam debut at Roland Garros last year, progressing to the fourth round, and won his first ATP title in May, but he's already been dubbed 'America's best hope in years' in men's tennis.

Korda's progress has been helped by a stellar cast in his corner. As well as his parents, he can count Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf - with 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them - as hitting partners.

He grew up travelling around the world with his father, who coached Andy Roddick and Radek Stepanek, so being at major tournaments was second nature.

That experience perhaps explains his cool demeanour and the fact he does not seem fazed by the platform he finds himself on.

"[There's] no pressure at all. I've been around tennis all my life," he says.

"It was always my dream to be here and play these big tournaments, so there's no pressure at all. I'm doing what I love and I couldn't be more grateful for it.

"I've probably got one of the best teams on the ATP Tour, that's for sure. I have Andre Agassi in my corner, my dad is a Grand Slam champion, my mum was a top-30 player, [I have] Dean Goldfine, who has coached numerous top-10 players.

"I have a great group around me and I'm trying to take as much in as I can, stay positive and just keep doing the right things."

The Kordas realise the interest in their family but you sense it's like water off a duck's back. External pressure, if it exists, doesn't bother them - but there's no harm in a little sibling challenge.

"There's a little competition in the family," Korda says. "My sister won the first tournament of the year, then I won my first title of the year, and then two weeks later my other sister won her first tournament of the year."

Nelly sees it differently. "We constantly push each other to strive for more. My parents had such good building blocks for us."

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