Rising Korda edges Hurkacz to reach first major quarter-final

The good vibes continue for American Sebastian Korda, the No 29 seed, at the Australian Open. Just two days after earning one of the biggest wins over his career over two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev, the former junior champion and son of 1998 champion Petr Korda advanced to the quarter-finals with a dramatic 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) over Hubert Hurkacz at Melbourne Park on Sunday night.

Korda, ranked No 31, will play hard-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 18 seed, next.

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It was a back-and-forth encounter with Hurkacz that swung both ways in Rod Laver Arena.

After Hurkacz sauntered through the opener, Korda took the next two sets before yielding once again to the Polish No 1 in set four.

The deciding set went with serve all the way, forcing a 10-point tiebreak.

Korda rebounded from 3-1 down to lead 7-3, before squandering four consecutive points. But he locked down from 7-7 and won the final three points to claim the emotional victory.

The 22-year-old American won against Chilean Cristian Garin (6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2), Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki (6-2, 7-5, 6-4) and Russian Daniil Medvedev, the No 7 seed (7-6 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (4)) ahead of his victory.

In the previous rounds, Hurkacz, ranked No 11, defeated Spaniard Pedro Martinez (7-6 (1), 6-2, 6-2), Italian Lorenzo Sonego (3-6, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3) and Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the No 20 seed (7-6 (3), 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-3).

Melbourne (Grand Slam), other last 16 results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 24.297.942, most recent results first):

• Alex De Minaur vs. Novak Djokovic
• Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Tommy Paul
• Andrey Rublev vs. Holger Rune
• Ben Shelton vs. J.J. Wolf
• Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jannik Sinner
• Jiri Lehecka vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime: sunday
• Karen Khachanov beat Yoshihito Nishioka (31): 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (4)

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