Australian Open 2023 LIVE results, Day 8 | Aryna Sabalenka v Belinda Bencic; Magda Linette v Caroline Garcia; Andrey Rublev v Holger Rune | Alex de Minaur v Novak Djokovic; Karolina Pliskova v Zhang Shuai
At the end of an epic fourth round match it was Seb Korda, a 22-year-old American, who earned a spot in his first Grand Slam quarterfinal by taking the last trio of points to edge No. 10 Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7).
“Those are the toughest points to win … those last three there,” said Korda, whose father, Petr, won the 1998 championship in Australia. “They’re brutal in a way.”
The younger Korda has made it a point to reach out and tap signs marking the titles won by his dad and by mentor Andre Agassi in the hallway leading to the court in Rod Laver Arena.
“Every single time I walk by, I always give … a little fist bump,” Korda said. “Kind of makes me feel like they’re with me, in a way. I always know that they’re watching. They’re both very special for me. They helped me a ton.”
Korda’s mother was a professional tennis player, too, and his two older sisters play pro golf. They’ve been following the guy they call “Sebi,” via TV from the United States during the Australian Open, despite the 16-hour time difference between the East Coast and Melbourne.
“I just got off the phone with them,” Korda said about his parents. “They’re going to try to go to bed.”
This victory followed up a third-round win for Korda against 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, the runner-up at Melbourne Park each of the past two years.
The 29th-seeded Korda will face 18th-seeded Karen Khachanov for a spot in the semifinals. The other quarterfinal on the top half of the bracket will feature unseeded Jiri Lehecka against No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat No. 15 Jannik Sinner 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3 in 4 hours.
