Sebastian Korda Takes a Trip in His Father’s Shoes but Finally Stands Apart | Hungama Plus
Sebastian Korda Takes a Trip in His Father’s Shoes but Finally Stands Apart
Sebastian Korda imitating his father’s signature move, a scissor kick, after winning the boys’ singles title at the Australian Open on Saturday.
MELBOURNE, Australia — The day Sebastian Korda arrived at the Australian Open, he went looking for his father. Specifically, he went looking for the photograph of his father, Petr, holding the trophy here when he was crowned the men’s singles champion in 1998.
“That was a special feeling,” Sebastian Korda said. “I definitely took a lot of photos.”
Twenty years later, it was Sebastian’s turn to pose with an Australian Open trophy. Korda, seeded seventh, saved two set points in the first set on Saturday before winning, 7-6 (6), 6-4, over sixth-seeded Tseng Chun-hsin of Taiwan in the boys’ singles final.
Korda, 17, said he had watched his father’s 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Marcelo Ríos in the 1998 final on YouTube “at least maybe once a month” as motivation. He saw a mirror image of his own game reflected on that screen.
“I’m like a little bit of a righty version of him,” he said of his left-handed father. “We definitely have a lot of similarities. We both take the ball early. We’re both aggressive. I try to model my game after him.”
The two also bear distinct flags by their names: Petr Korda played under the Czech flag, while Sebastian plays as an American, which is his sole citizenship.
Petr Korda, who recently turned 50, has coached Sebastian since he quit his serious pursuit of ice hockey at age 10. He was swayed to tennis after spending the 2010 United States Open on court with his father as he coached the Czech player Radek Stepanek.
His older children had been swayed in another direction: Sebastian’s two sisters, Jessica and Nelly, are golfers who finished 26th and 47th on the L.P.G.A. Tour’s 2017 money list. Jessica claimed her own Australian Open crown in 2012, winning nearby at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
Petr Korda celebrating his victory over Marcelo Ríos in the final of the 1998 Australian Open.
Jessica and Sebastian commemorated their victories here with their father’s signature celebration: a jumping scissor kick.
Petr Korda, speaking in a telephone interview from his home in Bradenton, Fla., said he had mixed feelings about his son following in his footsteps.
“With Sebi, I’m happy he’s — to call it in the old way — in the ‘family business,’ ” said Petr Korda, whose wife, Regina Rajchrtova, was also a professional tennis player, reaching a career high of No. 26. “But it’s difficult, so we’re trying to make this life easier.”
Petr Korda believes his son’s triumph on Saturday will help him establish his own identity.
“Him winning this junior Grand Slam, I’m very happy because he won it as Sebastian Korda,” the father said. “Because whenever he went to the tournament, they said, ‘Oh, you’re Petr Korda’s son.’ No, now he is Sebastian Korda.”
Still, Petr Korda believes it will be inevitable for his son to set his sights on bettering him and his career-high ranking of No. 2.
“I also wanted to beat my dad on the tennis court; I wanted to show that I’m the man,” Petr Korda said. “That’s the same thing Sebi has. He’ll say: ‘Oh, mom was No. 26, but I don’t want to be better than her; I want to be better than dad.’ We’ve been standing on top of the mountain, so to be better than us is difficult.”
He added: “I was very happy when the girls took up golf. They can set their own goals. But then I can see how challenging it was for Nelly when they asked, ‘Oh, are you going to be better than Jessica?’ ”
Petr Korda, who traveled the golf tour for 25 weeks with Nelly two years ago, said he drew greater satisfaction from his children’s achievements than from his own.
“It’s kind of meaningless, my title,” he said. “It’s very important, don’t get me wrong. But seeing our kids doing what they’re doing, I would trade any trophy in my cabinet for their journeys.”
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