His level, we know, can be raised. Korda was touted as the most likely U.S. man of this era to win a Grand Slam by Martina Navratilova, among others, when he jumped onto the scene in 2021. It was hard to disagree. He’s 6’5” and has the smoothest game of the Americans, especially with his two-handed backhand. One member of the USTA’s training staff told me that Korda’s appearance lit a fire under the guys who are older than him—Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe. But while they’ve continued their upward climb, Korda has stood by and watched as a new crew of countrymen—Ben Shelton, Learner Tien, Alex Michelsen, Brandon Nakashima—have, at least for the moment, passed him by.
Why, aside from injury, hasn’t he been better? Korda’s win on Wednesday showcased his strengths and weaknesses. He cracked 10 aces and blistered nearly 60 winners over three sets. But with that slew of winners came a slew of mistakes as well.
Korda’s down-the-line backhand was a thing of beauty. Perhaps because it’s such a natural shot for him, though, he tends to play with little margin on that side, sending the ball low over the net and landing it near the sidelines more often than necessary.
“You have absolute brilliance from him, but also lots of unforced errors,” as one of the match commentators put it.
