Sebastian Korda names Novak Djokovic as an inspiration to help him choose tennis over ice hockey as a career choice

After watching a Novak Djokovic match at the 2009 US Open, Sebastian Korda decided to pick tennis over ice hockey.

Sebastian Korda names Novak Djokovic as an inspiration to help him choose tennis over ice hockey as a career choice

Sebastian Korda (L), Novak Djokovic (Via Imago)

Sebastian Korda recently revealed the key factor that helped him confidently pursue tennis as a career. The 24-year-old American was born into a family of tennis players and was naturally into the world of sports.

His parents, Petr Korda and Regina Rajchrtova, were former Czech tennis players who were pretty famous in the sport. Their son, Sebastian, however, did not directly choose tennis as his sport. He was into ice hockey before he picked up tennis.

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Sebastian recalled one incident that made him choose tennis over ice hockey. He started playing tennis because his dad used to coach Radek Stepanek. However, he fell in love with the sport upon watching matches at the US Open, especially the match between Novak Djokovic and Stepanek in 2009.

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The American recalled that the atmosphere was crazy, which stayed with him even when he went back home, which made him pick tennis over ice hockey. The rest is history, as he slowly built his way to the main draw of tennis and started getting up the rankings. 

I went to the US Open in 2009. I also played ice hockey. My parents told me I had to decide what I really wanted to do. I fell in love with tennis at the US Open. Stepanek played Djokovic in 2009. The atmosphere was crazy. I went home and decided that this was the sport I wanted to play.
Sebastian Korda said (via thesportsrush)

In 2009, Djokovic was starting to assert his dominance on the men’s tour. Against Stepanek at the 2009 US Open, he won in straight sets. He made it to the semifinals that year, where he lost in straight sets to Roger Federer.

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Pete Sampras(L), Roger Federer(R)

Sebastian Korda creates history by winning the Citi Open

Sebastian Korda beat Flavio Cobolli in the final to clinch the Citi Open title. The fourth seed dropped only on set en route to the quarterfinals, where he defeated Jordan Thompson 6-4, 6-2.

Sebastian Korda
Sebastian Korda (Image via Imago)

He beat Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals to set up a title clash with Cobolli. He bounced back from a set down in the final to win 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 and become the first American since Andy Roddick in 2007 to clinch the Citi Open title.

Furthermore, Korda also achieved another milestone. Thanks to his title win, he joined his father Petr Korda to become the first father-son duo to win the title at the tournament. Petr won the title back in 1992.

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