Fair to say Sebastian Korda has failed to put his money where his mouth is at Wimbledon after suffering a second successive first round exit at SW19. In a shock result on Tuesday, the 20th seed went down in five sets to Mpetshi Giovanni Perricard, with the Frenchman eventually prevailing 6-7 7-6 6-7 7-6 3-6.
It follows Korda being beaten at the same stage last year by Jiri Vesely, again when the American was seeded of the tournament.
And it was prior to that clash with the Czech player that Korda made a statement that has since embarrassingly backfired.
“I’m very confident in myself on a tennis court,” he said in his pre-match press conference. I move really well, I definitely have a game that not many people have.
“I’m a really aggressive player, I like to come to the net. I have good hands and I definitely feel as if I’m one of the favourites at Wimbledon.”
That declaration has thus far proved misplaced, and footage of his comments have since re-emerged online following his gruelling clash with Perricard. The 20-year-old lucky loser blasted 51 aces in a match that lasted three hours and 21 minutes, and saved all 11 break points he faced to earn his first main draw win at a major.
The world No.20 came into the tournament on the back of a strong showing at Queen’s. He reached the semi-final stage before losing to eventual champion Tommy Paul, but that showing proved a false dawn with his grass court season having now stalled.
And tennis fans on X have been merciless on him, with @RealTenisFanz joking: “Once upon a time (last year), Korda told a fairytale how he is a favourite for Wimbledon champ. However, his happily ever after has him losing in the first round two years in a row!”
@Kloppenheimer added: “Remember that one time Seb Korda thought he was favourite for Wimbledon,” while @divirj04 wrote: “Sebastian Korda actually said he is, “one of the contenders to WIN Wimbledon last year. He has not won a single match at the tournament since that quote!”
Korda’s best effort at Wimbledon remains his 2021 campaign, when he reached the last-16 stage. The 23-year-old was then beaten in a thriller in five sets, by Karen Khachanov, with the score in the decider being 10–8 after thirteen breaks of serve.
His run to the quarter-final of the Australian Open in 2023 remains his best effort in a Grand Slam. His father, Petr, famously won his sole Slam in Melbourne back in 1988.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk