Sebastian Korda hails Andre Agassi as tennis royalty and regathers his Citi Open’s memories as a kid that holds great locker room experiences in the DC grounds.
Radek Stepanek who won 2011 edition of the ATP 500 event was a pupil of his father, Petr Korda. The Junior Korda is now has his own fan base and draws audiences to the court with his own explosive brand of tennis.
Mubadala Citi DC Open is a tournament that always showcases a talented field of competitors and a good share of them comes from the US host nation. The 23-year old is in the draw of the Washington tourney listed as the #8th seed and will take the matchcourt on Wednesday.
“Washington has to be one of my favourite stops definitely on tour, just kind of being here as a 12, 13 and 14-year-old kid with my dad and Radek Stepanek,” Korda told ATPTour.com.
“Just to kind of experience everything was really cool. Being in the locker room for the first time and just being around the players, I have a lot of great memories from this tournament. It’s definitely very special.”
The American was cooling down on a bike in the players’ gym on Sunday as he gazed the poster outside that featured a picture of his idol, former ATP world #1 Andre Agassi. Sebi acknowledged the special role that US icon Agassi played in his career.
“I sent him a selfie with me and him with the plaque in the back,” Korda said.
“He’s just a very special person to me. He’s obviously kind of tennis royalty in a way and just to have someone like that in my corner, I think it’s pretty special.”
Agassi won the 1991 Washington final against the senior Korda. One of Agassi’s five Citi Open titles came against Petr Korda in straight sets (6-3, 6-4).
“I’m pretty sure Andre was playing night matches every single day and my dad was playing first on at like one o’clock when it was really hot,” Korda said with a chuckle.
“And I think Andre just smoked my dad in the final.”
Korda admits that Agassi’s influence on his tennis is something that cannot be overlooked.
“He sees life in a different way than everyone else. He’s just a very positive, outgoing person, has a massive, massive heart. He’ll do absolutely anything for the people that he’s close with,” Korda said.
“He’s just a really great human being. Just the way that he sees tennis in a way is very different. He thinks about different things from other people. Kind of what he can do to get a bigger advantage in tennis.
“I love playing on the hard courts, especially in the U.S.,” Korda added.
“I think it’s so much fun to play around here. Everything’s super close. All the fans are great. It’s just really comfortable being here in a country you grew up in and everything’s just super easy.”
The emerging American kicked off his season on high by reaching the championship match of ATP 250 final in Adelaide where he held a match point against the Serbian but eventually fell short to close the match. After a successful run at Adelaide, he secured the quarterfinal berth at Australian Open and in process defeated the likes of Hubert Hurkacz and Daniil Medvedev.
The Floridian retired in the quarters after hurting his elbow and did not return to the tour until April in Madrid. As he sang Agassi’s praises, the 23-year old is exited for the remainder season.
“Started off great and there was kind of a speed bump in the middle, but there are things that you kind of have to go through as a tennis player,” Korda said. “You learn from them and you keep going. I’m grateful for my journey right now and I couldn’t be happier to be back playing to a high level again.”