ATP Tour

‘Composed’ Korda back in business with serving clinic in Hangzhou

Sebastian Korda has had his fair share of injury woes in recent times, but he bounced back from his latest one in clinical fashion on Friday at the Lynk & Co Hangzhou Open.

The 25-year-old American, who was forced to retire from his first round at the US Open last month, returned with a 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Adam Walton at the Chinese ATP 250 event. Korda dropped serve in the opening game but reeled off four straight games from 3-5 in the first set and fired 20 aces throughout the 87-minute first-round clash.

Let's go! 🇺🇸@SebiKorda marks his Hangzhou debut 7-5 6-3 🆚 Walton@HangzhouOpen | #HangzhouOpen pic.twitter.com/AfYXpR5xmf

— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 19, 2025

“It was a tough match. He started off great… I didn’t start off too well, but I kept my composure as much as I could,” said Korda. “I thought I served really well, and when you serve well it’s a lot easier, so I’m very happy with the performance today.”

Korda was also sidelined for two-and-a-half months due to a right shin stress fracture after Roland Garros and made his return in Winston-Salem, where he withdrew ahead of his semi-final match. Into the second round on his Hangzhou debut, Korda next meets Chinese wild card Wu Yibing.

After beginning the year as the No. 22 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, Korda now sits at No. 79 with a 15-11 record in 2025, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. He reached the Adelaide final in January and made the quarter-final at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami before injuries hampered his progress.

Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata also advanced on Friday after a hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-4 victory over fifth seed Camilo Ugo Carabelli — just his second win from nine tour-level matches this season. Hijikata converted 13 of 17 break points to set a second-round meeting with Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Watch Extended Highlights of Day 3 action in Hangzhou: 

Arthur Cazaux recorded his first tour-level win on hard courts since January by moving past Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 and levelling the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. The 23-year-old set an all-French second-round clash with fourth seed Corentin Moutet.

Another Frenchman advancing on Friday was Valentin Royer, who rallied past Aleksandar Kovacevic 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-3 to tee up a clash with top seed Andrey Rublev. The 24-year-old Royer has earned all four of his career tour-level wins this year and is at a career-high No. 88 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

In the final match of the day, Aleksandar Vukic snapped a five-match tour-level losing streak by overcoming David Goffin 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. He will next face third seed Alexander Bublik, whom he leads 2-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.