(Tennis news) In what was a stunning victory, 22 year old American tennis player Sebastian Korda defeated former World Number 1 and two time Australian Open runner up Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-4) at the Rod Laver Arena. The result meant that Korda will now progress into the Round of 16 after the biggest win of his career and will take on Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz. Korda seemed to be at the front foot right from the start, firing winners from both sides of the court and showing a great variety of shots, mixing it up with serve-volley and drop shots.

It took 85 minutes for Korda to win the first set, securing it after a thrilling tie-break and went on to win the second set relatively easily, needing just one break. However, Medvedev fought back in the third set, showing his experience and quality but it simply wasn’t enough as in-form Korda won the tie-break again, thereby securing his first victory against a top 10 opponent in a Grand Slam. The Australian Open has seen Americans produce some memorable upsets in the tournament so far with Mackenzie McDonald beating No 1 seed Rafael Nadal on Wednesday and Jenson Brooksby defeating No 2 seed Casper Ruud a day later.

In other results, Greek tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is currently the highest ranked player in the Australian Open, defeated Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-3. This means that the 24 year old will now take on Jannik Sinner in the fourth round. Tsitsipas has reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open on three occasions in the last four years and will hope to go one step further to finally win his first Grand Slam title.

“I’ve never been making predictions because the sport that I chose to play is unpredictable. Of course, there are favourites. Everyone knows that. If my mind is not there, it doesn’t matter who I’m playing with. If I’m not able to generate good shots, hit big shots at important moments, be daring at important moments, it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side of the net. It’s always up to me. I believe there are no presents. You should be going after it, you should be creating those opportunities, and aiming big within yourself, sometimes surpassing your own abilities. That is something that I enjoy. When I see myself getting beyond that, it is a very beautiful feeling.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas

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