BREAKING NEWS: Young American Sebastian Korda books his spot in a first EVER Grand Slam quarterfinal as he survives grueling fifth-set tiebreak to beat No 10 seed Hubert Herkacz at the Australian Open
American rising star Sebastian Korda has reached the first Grand Slam quarter-final of his fledgling career after battling through a five-set thriller to beat Poland’s No 10 seed Hubert Herkacz at the Australian Open.
The 22-year-old, from Florida, went into the match as a big underdog but found himself two sets to one up and in with a brilliant chance of sealing a victory.
He lost the fourth set 6-1 and then looked on his way to a heartbreaking defeat after losing the momentum, but a topsy-turvy clash eventually ended in his favor after a grueling tie-break in the deciding set.
Korda has only previously got as far as the fourth round of a Grand Slam, in Australia, France and at Wimbledon, but this time he has managed to go one better.
In the quarters, the US star will face No 18 seed Karen Khachanov.
More to follow.
Sebastian Korda stretches to reach the ball during his fourth round match with Hubert Herkacz
The No 10 seed just proved too much for the young American across a grueling five sets
Korda was cheered on by his coach, former world No 8 Radek Stepanek (R), in his players’ box
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