Sebastian Korda has watched Novak Djokovic from up close since he was a kid, joining father Petr Korda on the road when he coached Czech star Radek Stepanek.
On Wednesday evening, Korda will stand across the net from Djokovic for the second time in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series when they clash in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open presented by Itau. The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings has spoken highly of his opponent.
“[He is] one of the players that has kind of the cleanest striking technique that you can see on the Tour I mean, he's so talented. Everything seems very flawless with him. Just effortless, not flawless,” Djokovic said ahead of their first match, in the 2023 Adelaide final. “The way he plays, the way he moves on the court, just beautiful-looking tennis.”
That first showdown was a memorable one. Korda held championship point in the second set before the Serbian rallied to a three-set victory to lift the trophy.
“Throughout the match, you look over and you kind of feel like you're dreaming,” Korda said after the final. “I’ve watched him play on TV basically all my life, and it was an unbelievable experience for me, and it was very close. But I'll take a lot of great things from it, like I always do, and move forward.”
Korda will try to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final (2023 Shanghai, 2024 Montreal) and chase the biggest trophy of his career. The American is a two-time ATP Tour titlist who last year claimed his maiden ATP 500 crown in Washington.
Djokovic is pursuing his record seventh Miami trophy and trying to join Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) in the 100-titles club, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The Serbian is also chasing his first title since the Paris Olympics and first hard-court title since the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals.
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