Sebastian Korda seeks to break his limits on grass | ATP Tour

s-Hertogenbosch

Korda seeks to break his limits on grass

First seed De Miñaur went to Raonic

June 14, 2024

Sebastian Korda reached his second ATP Tour semifinal of the season this Friday at the Libera Open, where the grass season begins. The American defeated his compatriot Tommy Paul 6-4, 6-2 to qualify for the penultimate round of the tournament.

“I played a very good game,” acknowledged Korda, who needed 67 minutes to capture the victory. “I am very happy with the way I competed today. I wanted to thank everyone who came today even though it’s not a sunny day.”

On a day of overcast skies, where interruptions due to rain were a palpable threat, the American completed a determined performance on the grass of ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Korda secured 84% of the points played with first serve (27/32) to add his third victory of the week.

After previously beating the Australian Tristan Schoolkate and the Italian Luca Nardi, Korda has reached the semifinals without giving up a single round, demonstrating an immediate adaptation to the conditions of the Dutch grass.

“It’s a great tournament and we feel very comfortable,” acknowledged the American, who is participating for the first time in the ATP 250 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. “There are a lot of great quality tracks and it’s being a pretty nice event so far.”

“On this tour I have many goals. I want to feel comfortable in the first grass tournament of the season and we’ll see what happens. I have played three great games, I am feeling confident, I hope to continue like this in the next games.”

Korda looks to extend his grass-court experience on the ATP Tour this week. The American, who last year achieved his greatest result by climbing to the semifinals of the Queen’s ATP 500, has a record of 12-6 on the surface.

Now, the immediate objective will be to break your personal limits. Korda will try to reach his first final on grass by facing the current champion Tallon Griekspoor this Saturday. The great local favorite, who defeated Australian Aleksandar Vukic 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), has accumulated eight consecutive victories in the tournament.

For his part, Alex de Minaur, No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings, also advanced to the semifinals after beating Milos Raonic 7-5, 6-2. The former world No. 3 was playing his fourth tournament of the year this week.

De Minaur, seeded first for the first time in his tour career, won 76% of his return points on the second serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and beat the Canadian in one hour and 26 minutes. The 25-year-old improved to 3-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Raonic and will face third seed Ugo Humbert or qualifier Gijs Brouwer.

De Minaur, eight-time circuit champion, is aiming for his second trophy on grass (Eastbourne 2021). With a record of 31-11 on the season, the Australian is seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. His goal is to participate in the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time.