Despite being sidelined by injury early this year and only playing a handful of tournaments in recent months, Sebastian Korda says he is high in confidence heading into Wimbledon.
The 22-year-old is playing at the Cinch Championships at Queen’s which is only his fourth ATP event since February. After reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open back in January, Korda missed three months of the Tour due to a wrist injury. When he returned to competitive tennis, the American didn’t experience much success on the clay by winning one out of only four matches played, which was against Mackenzie Mcdonald in the first round of the French Open.
However, Korda is feeling much more at home on the grass. At Queen’s on Wednesday, he defeated fourth seed Frances Tiafoe 7-6(2), 6-3, in the second round. Earlier in the tournament he also defeated Dan Evans in straight sets.
“I’m very confident in myself on the grass court. I move really well and definitely have a game that not very many people have,” Korda said following his win over Tiafoe.
“I’m an aggressive player, I like to come to the net, I have good hands, and I definitely feel as if I’m one of the favorites at Wimbledon.”
Declaring himself a title contender at The All England Club is a big call from Korda who has only won one ATP title so far in his career which was on the clay back in 2021. He has also only played at Wimbledon once before back in 2021 when he reached the fourth round. He didn’t play last year due to shin splints and foot issues.
Korda credits his work with trainer Jez Green for helping him ‘build his body for Grand Slam tennis.’ Green is a well-known figure on the British tennis circuit who has previously worked with Andy Murray, Emma Raducanu and various other players. The two started working together during Korda’s injury-related break earlier this year.
“I have gained a few kilos since Australia and just kind of grown into my body. I was very skinny, very tall.” He said.
“The more matches I play, the more sore I am here and there, but I think the expertise of Jez is really just building the body, and so far I’m very happy with everything.”
As for his wrist, the pain is no longer a factor for the world No.32. However, it still lingers in his mind.
“Sometimes I don’t want to hit certain shots because I feel like a pain is going to be coming,” Korda admits.
“I just kind of gotta let that go and just play tennis. Everything is healthy right now and I’m just thrilled to be back on the tennis court.”
Korda will play Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals of Queen’s on Friday.
