Sebastian Korda’s Australian Open campaign may have ended in injury disappointment on Tuesday in Melbourne, but the 22-year-old’s post-match mindset did not reflect that.

“There are a lot of positives,” said Korda, who trailed Karen Khachanov by two sets and a break in their quarter-final clash before retiring with a wrist injury on Rod Laver Arena. “Way more positives than negatives. Today was tough, but hopefully it’s nothing serious and I can take care of it, so I don’t have it in the future.

“[It was] still a great tournament [for me]. My first quarter-final in a Grand Slam. I’m going to go forward with my head high and keep working.”

Korda had his wrist taped at 3-2 in the second set against Khachanov and struggled to hit his forehand from that point on. He ultimately retired with his opponent leading 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0, and later revealed it was a recurrence of an issue that he first experienced during his run to the championship match at the Adelaide International 1 in early January.

“I had it a little bit in Adelaide a couple weeks ago, but then it went away,” said the American. “During the matches [in Melbourne], it was completely fine. Then just one kind of mishit return, and it started to bother me a lot of after that.

“I kind of knew what it was right away, right when I hit the return. I kind of felt that spot that I was feeling before. Some forehands I couldn’t even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me. So it was a little tough.”

The unfortunate development ended a stellar run for the 22-year-old at Melbourne Park, where he downed Cristian Garin, Yosuke Watanuki, Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz to reach his maiden Slam quarter-final.

“I mean, you obviously feel good on the court,” said Korda, when asked if he had held genuine title hopes after his series of impressive wins in Melbourne. “You obviously are playing against really good opponents, you’re beating opponents, and you definitely feel good about yourself. You know, the more you play, the better you feel.

“I just was playing some really good tennis. I know probably nobody really wanted to play me right now. I really believed in myself the whole time.”

Of his four wins this fortnight, the straight-sets victory against Medvedev stands out. Korda dismantled a two-time Australian Open finalist with a near-flawless third-round display of all-court tennis, a statement win for a player who has risen six spots to No. 25 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Melbourne exploits and set himself up for a new career high.

“[I have] a lot of confidence now,” reflected Korda. “I have always been very close to winning the big matches, but now I’m getting through them. I think that’s a huge lesson I have been learning and going forward I’m really proud of myself.

“Going forward, I’m going to keep on trying to do the same thing, keep on mentally being the same way. You know, I think I can do some really big things in the near future.”

Korda was one of three Americans to reach the quarter-finals in Melbourne, the first time since 2005 that three American men have reached the last eight at a Grand Slam. One of his countrymen, Tommy Paul or #NextGenATP star Ben Shelton, will go one step further, with the pair set to face off in a quarter-final clash on Wednesday.

Now one of 10 American men in the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, the 22-year-old Korda acknowledged the camaraderie among the current crop of ATP Tour talent from his homeland. He retains hopes for an American champion in Melbourne, despite his own quarter-final exit.

“Of course [tennis is] individual, but we also have the Davis Cup,” said Korda. “I think with the group that we have, I think we can do really well in the near future. We are all really good friends. I’m good friends with Tommy and starting to become good friends with Ben as well.

“I wish them all the best. They’re going to have a great match, and hopefully they can go all the way.”

Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin reached their first Grand Slam semi-final as a team Tuesday when they upset third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4) at the Australian Open.

The Frenchmen had not dropped a set en route to the quarter-finals and played with confidence against the 2022 Roland Garros champions, firing in the big moments as they converted three of their four break point chances to advance after one hour and 58 minutes.

Chardy and Martin are making their fourth appearance as a team in Melbourne, with their best result before this year being a third-round run in 2018.

Their semi-final opponents will be Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski, who defeated Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech 6-1, 6-4 earlier on Tuesday.

The Monegasque-Polish pairing used an early break to command both sets, and they maintained their advantage by saving all three break points against them.

It was the first straight-sets victory of the tournament for Nys and Zielinksi, who battled back from a set down to win each of their first three matches. The team has knocked off two seeds on the way to the semis, including second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the third round.

The remaining two doubles quarter-finals are set for Wednesday in Melbourne. Top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski face Aussie wild cards Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler, while eight seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos meet 14th seeds Andreas Mies and John Peers.

Karen Khachanov advanced to his second consecutive Grand Slam semi-final on Tuesday night after Sebastian Korda retired in the third set of their Australian Open matchup with a right-wrist injury. The 18th seed was leading 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-0 after winning seven straight games following a medical timeout for the American midway through set two.

Khachanov clinched a hard-fought opening set with a daring backhand winner, regrouping with a strong tie-break after failing to serve out the set at 5-3. He then saw three break points go begging early in the second as he stayed on top with his consistent baseline game.

“For sure, back-to-back semi-finals in a Grand Slam feels great,” Khachanov said in an on-court interview. “Obviously not the way you want to finish the match. I think until a certain point it was very competitive, a very good battle. Sebastian beat one of my friends, Daniil [Medvedev], in three sets and won in five sets against Hurkacz. He is playing great tennis.

“I’m feeling good, to be honest. I’m really happy about my level, about the way I compete, and looking forward to the semi-finals here in Australia for the first time.”

All respect between these guys 🤝@karenkhachanov • Sebastian Korda • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/7q3q3qI7ye

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2023

Korda received a medical timeout and had his wrist taped at 3-2 in the second set, and he struggled to control his forehand once he returned to the court in Rod Laver Arena as Khachanov quickly extended his lead.

By reaching the Melbourne quarters, Khachanov became the 10th active male player and the 50th in the Open Era to reach that stage at all four Grand Slams. He has now won his past two major quarter-finals after his run to the semis at the 2022 US Open.

“I think I kind of reinvented myself,” he said of his recent form, more than three years after he reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 8 in 2019. “I always believe in myself but there are always ups and downs, and sometimes when you have a great result it just shows you what you are capable of and then you start to believe more and more. This belief and self-confidence I think appeared much stronger after the US Open. I made a few semi-finals already so I hope to continue that way and to grow as a person and as a sportsman.”

Khachanov will seek his first Grand Slam final when he faces Stefanos Tsitsipas or Jiri Lehecka, with that quarter-final set for Tuesday evening in Rod Laver Arena.

Korda, playing in his first major quarter-final, was bidding to improve to 4-0 against Top 20 opponents at the Australian Open. Instead, he fell to 14-15 against such players in his tour-level career. The American is now on the brink of becoming a Top 20 player himself, as he has moved up six places this fortnight to No. 25 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up for a new career high.

Khachanov’s semi-final run has lifted him seven places to No. 13 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. He can rise as high as No. 7 with the title.

The ATP Head2Head between Khachanov and Korda is now level at 2-2, with both of Khachanov’s victories coming at majors, including a five-set win at Wimbledon in 2021.

After suffering a first-round defeat in the Australian Open qualifying, Alexander Shevchenko took the long trip from Melbourne to Tenerife to compete at the ATP Challenger Tour event on the Canary Island.

Although the journey may have been halfway across the world, it paid off as the 22-year-old didn’t drop a set all week en route to claiming the Tenerife Challenger 1, where he downed Austrian Sebastian Ofner 7-5, 6-2 in the final.

“The final was very tough,” Shevchenko said. “I had to go more aggressive and also had to win some points playing defence. A lot of fun emotions that I will remember for the rest of my career.”

Shevchenko is coached by Gunter Bresnik, who has worked with prominent players such as Boris Becker, Patrick McEnroe, Dominic Thiem, and Gael Monfils.

After claiming his maiden Challenger title in Bratislava this past season, Shevchenko was a two-time semi-finalist in the latter half of 2022 (Milan, Szczecin). The Challenger 100 title in Tenerife lifts him to a career-high No. 116 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

“I’m close [to the Top 100],” Shevchenko said. “But I’m not there, so I have to work hard from next week on, forget about this week, and start the new week.”

On the clay courts of Piracicaba, Andrea Collarini dispatched four of the Top-9 seeds, including World No. 102 Alejandro Tabilo, to win his first Challenger title since August 2019 (L’Aquila). The Argentine defeated Chilean Tomas Barrios Vera in the final 6-2, 7-6(1) to capture the Brasil Tennis Challenger.

“I can’t wait to celebrate with my wife and my family,” Collarini said. “I’m happy because I won a Challenger again. The last one was three years ago and this past year I reached two finals (Tigre-2, Vicenza) but I couldn’t win them. I’ve had good weeks and bad weeks. Now I’m happy because in those bad weeks I wondered if I would be able to win a tournament again, and I finally did.”

Andrea Collarini triumphs at the Brasil Tennis Challenger. Credit: João Pires

Following a record-setting 23 Challenger titles in 2022, players from Argentina are off to fast start to surpass their own milestone. Juan Manuel Cerundolo collected a pair of titles in the first two weeks of the season and now Collarini joins the fellow lefty as Argentine Challenger champions this month.

The title at the Challenger 75 event propels the 2010 Roland Garros boys’ singles finalist to a career-high 186 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

At the Bangkok Open 3, Japan’s Sho Shimabukuro collected his maiden Challenger crown. En route to title, the 25-year-old took down top seed James Duckworth and ended Frenchman Arthur Cazaux’s 13-match winning streak in the final 6-2, 7-5.

Shimabukuro is building upon his career-best season in 2022, when he made his Davis Cup debut in September and narrowly escaped former World No. 33 Denis Istomin. The following month, Gifu native advanced through qualifying to compete in his maiden Tour-level tournament, the ATP 500 event in Tokyo.

Sho Shimabukuro in action at the Bangkok Open 3. Credit: The Lawn Tennis Association Of Thailand