MELBOURNE, Australia—This was not a smooth ride for Sebastian Korda at the Australian Open on Sunday. An early deficit against a higher-seeded opponent. Some so-so serving. An up-and-down fifth-set tiebreaker filled with mistakes by both players.
At the end—the very end—it was 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….