CITI OPEN

August 3, 2022

Sebastian Korda

Press Conference

S. KORDA/S. Baez

6-1, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Great match today. Tough opponent. Seemed like maybe it felt comfortable out there. How was it for you?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, good. Definitely isn't easy. He's a great opponent. Super happy with the score and how I played today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Coming into this part of the schedule, are you able to acclimate to the weather, to the heat? Is it similar to what you experience living in Florida?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, for sure. It actually was probably worse in Florida than it is here. This is kind of easy (smiling).

Yeah, I mean, it's just all those hours that you are going to put on court and they kind of just pay off here.

Q. Where are you at health-wise? I know you had some foot issues earlier in the summer. Curious where you are with that and how you feel sort of physically with US Open about a month away.

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, physically I feel really good. Really nice four-week training block in Bradenton with my dad and Xavier. Yeah, just super happy with everything.

I put on a little bit of muscle and really kind of helping me right now with the heat and kind of just being more stable on court. I think it was a really sad but a really good thing for me to skip Wimbledon and take some time and just kind of work on my body a little bit.

Q. A broader question. You obviously get a lot of attention as maybe the face of American men's tennis for the next generation. I'm just curious how you deal with that and what you think of it and is it sometimes distracting or tough to kind of manage?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: No, not at all. I think it's pretty cool to have the ability kind of be called, you know, the next big thing in American tennis. We have a lot of great guys in American tennis that are coming up, and to be part of that group, it's really special.

It's motivating to do bigger, better things. And to be recognized as someone that has a chance to do some of those things, it's pretty cool.

Q. You have had some success in a lot of the majors each of the last two years. An early exit at the US Open. What do you put that down to? Do you find that just other surfaces like the grass or so forth better for you? What do you sort of attribute that to, and what are you looking ahead to this year?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Well, I mean, last year I had food poisoning in the US Open, so it was kind of tough to really do anything, having to retire. But also in the year before was also a COVID year, so it was my first main draw of a Grand Slam, playing Denis Shapovalov in four sets, which wasn't easy.

I think this year is going to be my first well-prepared into the US Open kind of, just kind of taking a little break getting ready for the American hard court swing and just hopefully just enjoy it. It's always a privilege to play a Grand Slam, especially in your home country. Really looking forward to it.

Q. Where do you feel like your game is at? Obviously you're playing nicely this week. Where do you feel like your game is at with that about a month away?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, slowly but surely it's getting to where I want it to be, I had a good first set in Atlanta last week. Unfortunately lost but kind of just wasn't physically ready to battle in the heat just yet, and just kind of getting my body ready to matches again. Just been feeling good on court, and hopefully I can just keep going.

Q. Last week Mardy Fish became I think the first ATP player to play a pro golf event. Obviously you have a lot of connections to golf. Wonder what you make of that accomplishment, and what similarities in your mind do you think tennis and golf have?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Mardy is cool. Especially during Davis Cup we were playing golf on a simulator. It was good fun. He's an unbelievable athlete.

I don't think too many people can play one sport and switch over and play another sport at a pretty competitive, high level. I think it's really cool.

Maybe one day I can get a crack at it. Yeah, I think it's pretty cool for Mardy to be able to play a golf tournament in his home state, and it was cool to watch.