Competing at only his fifth ATP tournament, world no. 119
Sebastian Korda reached the Delray Beach final and fought for his first ATP title at 20.
Sebastian lost to
Hubert Hurkacz, dealing with a leg injury and a solid rival on the other side of the net, but he still did enough to earn our Player of the Week award. Hurkacz and
Alex de Minaur (the Aussie conquered Antalya) grabbed the season's first ATP trophies.
However, we still picked Sebastian as the winner of the season's first award, playing on a high level to beat four rivals and showing well-balanced tennis that should propel him inside the top-50 by the end of the season.
Sebastian defeated Soonwoo Kwon in the first round after fending off five out of six break chances, remaining calm and collected to pass the first obstacle and make a winning start. The youngster lost the opening set against the fellow American Tommy Paul before raising his level to produce a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 triumph. Sebastian overpowered Tommy in the decisive moments and repelled nine out of 11 break chances to emerge at the top and advance into the quarters.
Korda ousted the 2nd seed John Isner 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 for his first ATP semi-final, losing serve once and stealing John's serve thrice to emerge at the top and remain on the title course. Sebastian took down Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-5 in the semis, moving closer to the ATP trophy before Hubert Hurkacz halted him on the last obstacle.
The Pole took control in the middle of the opening set and never looked back, playing better than the injured youngster to lift the second ATP title. Korda is hoping for more good runs by the end of the season, confident about his game and abilities.