Clutch Korda: #NextGenATP American Saves 1 MP, Battles Back In Quimper
Some wins are more satisfying than others. For Sebastian Korda, this was certainly one of them.
The #NextGenATP American fought past home hope Tristan Lamasine to advance at the ATP Challenger Tour event in Quimper, France, on Tuesday. Seeded second this week at the Open Quimper Bretagne Occidentale, Korda saved a match point and stormed back from 1/5 down in the deciding tie-break to prevail 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(7).
Sitting just outside the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, the World No. 103 is a man on a mission this week. Korda is competing in his first tournament since reaching his first ATP Tour final at the Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com (l. to Hurkacz) two weeks ago. He has now won 10 of his last 11 matches, also including a title run at the ATP Challenger Tour stop in Eckental, Germany, to conclude his breakout 2020 campaign.
The 20-year-old refused to succumb to Lamasine on Tuesday, despite being broken when serving for the match at 5-3 in the deciding set and leaving three match points on the board in the subsequent game. A pair of unforced errors saw Korda fall behind 1/5 in the ensuing tie-break, but he would battle back, denying a match point on his racquet at 5/6 and eventually crossing the finish line after two hours and 32 minutes.
Korda will face another Frenchman, Mathias Bourgue, on Thursday. Bourgue defeated Lukas Rosol 7-6(5), 6-4 earlier on Day 2 in Quimper.
In other action, Brandon Nakashima defeated Maxime Janvier 6-3, 6-2 and Yannick Maden overcame Thomas Fabbiano 6-1, 5-7, 6-1. Nakashima has won seven of his last eight matches on the Challenger circuit, having triumphed in Orlando to cap his 2020 campaign.
Photo: Marion Mochet
One of the players to watch in 2021, 22-year-old Kacper Zuk continued his impressive run from qualifying. The Pole has not dropped a set in reaching the second round, defeating former World No. 39 Peter Gojowczyk 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday. Zuk, who upset current World No. 61 Vasek Pospisil en route to the Calgary semi-finals a year ago, is up to No. 267 in the FedEx ATP Rankings. He will face either Arthur Rinderknech, who lifted the trophy in Istanbul on Sunday, or fellow qualifier Antoine Cornut-Chauvinc on Thursday.
Elsewhere, French wild card Constant Lestienne turned in the upset of the day, stunning fourth seed Denis Kudla 6-2, 7-6(6) to set a meeting with Denis Istomin. His countryman Enzo Couacaud also earned a win over a seeded opponent, ousting Jurij Rodionov 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.
Rainout In Antalya
In Antalya, when it rains, it pours. The fourth straight day of the Club Megasaray Open I was washed out, as torrential downpours kept players from taking the court on Tuesday. The inaugural clay-court tournament will look to kick off on Wednesday, with qualifying, main draw singles and main draw doubles all on the schedule.
