Korda Upsets Medvedev In Shanghai For First Top 5 Win

After a topsy-turvy 2023 season so far, is Sebastian Korda getting back to his free-flowing best?

The American delivered a high-class display to claim the biggest win of his career Sunday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he downed second seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6(8), 6-2 at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Korda saved three set points to prevail in a compelling first-set tie-break featuring a series of all-court exchanges, although he was also grateful to three double-faults from Medvedev. The World No. 3 cut a frustrated figure in the second set and a Korda break in the second game proved enough for the 26th seed to secure an impressive one-hour, 28-minute win.

“We played really good tennis from the beginning,” said Korda. “We had some long rallies. I’m just really happy to get that first set under my belt and then it was just a matter of getting into one of his service games and hopefully taking it home after.”

Serve + #InAttack for the big win!

Korda with a 1st serve accuracy of 47cm 🎯 (Tour avg. 59cm) & a #ShotQuality score of 8️⃣.9️⃣

Combined with a 2nd set Return #ShotQuality of 9️⃣.5️⃣ led to a domination of #InAttack ⚔️#TennisInsights | @atptour | @SH_RolexMasters pic.twitter.com/LGduMzoC8p

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) October 8, 2023

Korda had to keep his cool to clinch the thrilling first-set tie-break after an opening set in which neither player carved out a break point. That included winning one of the points of the year when set point down at 6/7, as Medvedev repeatedly showcased his outstanding defensive skills.

“He’s so quick, it’s really tough to get anything by him, especially when you have a court this big and the balls get pretty fluffy out here so it gets a little bit slower,” said Korda. “It was definitely one of the points of the year for me, I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m just very happy with the way I played today.”

It was Korda’s second straight-sets win of the year against Medvedev, whom he also defeated at January’s Australian Open. Medvedev was at that point the World No.8, making Sunday’s victory in Shanghai Korda's first against a Top 5 opponent in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

The 23-year-old is now 24-13 for the season. He began the year with a final run in Adelaide and by reaching his maiden Grand Slam quarter-final in Melbourne but then missed nearly three months with a wrist injury and struggled for consistency after his competitive return.

Having reached the semi-finals in Zhuhai and the championship match in Astana prior to Shanghai, however, Korda will be full of confidence as he prepares for just his second fourth-round appearance at a Masters 1000 event. His last-16 opponent will be 20th seed Francisco Cerundolo, who overcame Marton Fucsovics 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

“It’s been a very difficult year for sure," said Korda. "I had a long pause on my year for three months, especially when I was playing some of the best tennis of my career so far. It was difficult, but it’s a long journey and I’m happy with the way I played today. It’s definitely one of the biggest victories in my career for sure.”