Carlos Alcaraz vs. Sebastian Korda
Could it be the spring of 2021 all over again for Korda? That year, at 20, he announced himself as a top-level contender by reaching the final in Delray Beach, and the quarterfinals in Miami. The 6’5’’ frame, the major-champion father, the ultra-smooth two-handed backhand: it was enough to get experts as highly regarded as Martina Navratilova to proclaim him the best of the U.S. men’s crop and a future Grand Slam winner.
Five years later, Korda has yet to reach a Grand Slam semifinal or crack the Top 10. He’s currently ranked 36th in the world and seventh among U.S. men. But as much as any other American, he still looks the part of a champion and, at 25, he’s far from finished.
Korda has also begun this year with good news in two departments: (1) He’s healthy, which is often not the case; and (2) He has a new coach, Ryan Harrison, who has made an immediate impact. Korda is 11-5 in 2026. He made a final at the Challenger in San Diego and a quarterfinal in Dallas. And this time, when he reached the Delray final, he went ahead and won it.
