AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2023

Sebastian Korda

Press Conference

K. KHACHANOV/S. Korda

7-6, 6-3, 3-0 [Ret.]

THE MODERATOR: Bad luck, Sebi. Please tell us about your wrist. Did it start bothering you before the match, or what happened exactly?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: No, I think it got worse during the match. I hit one forehand return, and after that, it was almost tough to hold the racquet at times.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Just to clarify, because you say it got worse during the match, was it anything that had been bothering you beforehand?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: I had it a little bit in Adelaide a couple weeks ago, but then it went away. During the matches, it was completely fine. Then just one kind of mishit return, and it started to bother me a lot of after that.

Q. What part of the match was that, what return?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: It was in the second set early.

Q. Is this injury something that you have experienced before in your career? If so, how long do you anticipate the recovery to be?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: I have no idea. I don't know what it really is. I had it in Adelaide and then it went away completely. Now it just came back out of nowhere.

I don't know. See a doctor right after this and figure out more.

Q. You said just in Adelaide, so this isn't anything that had been chronic or something you grew up with or anything like that?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: No, I have never had any wrist issues before, no.

Q. Did you know immediately this was going to be a problem, or was it that kind of soreness and injury, or what was the moment when it was, like, Yeah, this is really not going to work?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: During the match?

Q. Yeah.

SEBASTIAN KORDA: I mean, I knew kind of what it was right away, right when I hit the return. I kind of felt that spot that I was feeling before.

Like I said, some forehands I couldn't even hold the racquet. Volleying was almost impossible for me. So it was a little tough.

Q. Understandably it could be tough to answer this right now in the moment so soon off the court and leaving injured, but is it possible to kind of sum up this tournament for you and this experience and think about what might be some positives to take away, not just the fact that you got to the quarterfinals for the first time but also wins like against Medvedev, that tough five-setter you had?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, of course. There is a lot of positives. I mean, way more positives than even negatives. Today was tough, but hopefully it's nothing serious and I can take care of it so I don't have it in the future.

Like I said, I don't know what it is, but yeah, obviously a lot of positives. Still a great tournament. My first quarterfinal in a Grand Slam. You know, I'm going to go forward with my head high and keep working.

Q. Through the run during this tournament, did you feel like this Australian Open was going to be your moment?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, I mean, you obviously feel good on the court, you obviously are playing against really good opponents, you're beating opponents, and yeah, you definitely feel good about yourself. You know, the more you play, the better you feel.

You know, I just was playing some really good tennis. I know probably nobody really wanted to play me at the point right now. Yeah, you know, I really believed in myself the whole time.

Q. Obviously with the injury sort of looming, but hopefully that's all good, but rest of the year, how much confidence do you take now from this? You have beaten these guys here. How much confidence does that give you through the rest of the season?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, a lot of confidence now. I mean, I have always been very close to winning the big matches, but now I'm getting through them. I think that's a huge lesson I have been learning, and, you know, going forward, like I said, I'm really proud of myself. Going forward, I'm going to keep on trying to do the same thing, keep on mentally being the same way. You know, I think I can do some really big things in the near future.

Q. Just asking about another one of your countrymen and also a fellow Floridian, did you have any relationship with Ben growing up? Both obviously grew up in the same state and about the same age.

SEBASTIAN KORDA: No, no. I didn't meet Ben until Cincinnati last year. My old coach, Dean Goldfine, has been with him for I think over a year now, so I know him through Dean, of course.

Yeah, I didn't meet him until Cincinnati. I think he's a couple years younger than me, so I think we might have missed each other in the juniors, or in Kalamazoo I know he played a few times. But no, I didn't meet him until last year.

Q. There are going to be ten American men in the top 50 as of Monday. Most of you are quite young, 25 or under. Tennis is a very individual sport, but is there a sense of camaraderie or group? What are your sort of thoughts on seeing this sort of cohort all together making these strides?

SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, of course it's individual, but we also have the Davis Cup. I think with the group that we have, I think we can do really well in the near future. We are all really good friends. I'm good friends with Tommy and starting to become good friends with Ben as well.

I wish them all the best. They're going to have a great match, and hopefully they can go all the way.