Former US Open winner Andy Roddick has been very impressed with American talent Sebastian Korda. The youngster is the son of legendary Petr Korda and is all set to make a name for himself in the sport. Roddick believes that Korda has a lot of talent and should finish in the top 20 rankings at the end of the current season.
the 21-year-old has tasted some success this year as he won his maiden ATP title in Parma. He also reached the fourth round of the Wimbledon recently and his hard work and results have helped him break out in the top 50 earlier this month.
Roddick has followed the youngster since the start of his career and feels that he certainly has the talent to be the best in the country. In a recent interview with Tennis Channel, Roddick has mentioned that he wants Korda to enter the top 20 within this year.
“You are 45 [in the rankings], but you have done the bulk of your work in the last six months. You are going to shoot up further when the COVID-19 rankings readjust,” Roddick said. “I think in the real-time rankings, he’s somewhere in the top 20 and that’s probably what he should shoot for by the end of the year.”
The former World No. 1 has credited Korda for his exceptional work ethic and determination. He was also impressed with the 21-year-old’s well-rounded approach and his ability to adjust to all kinds of surfaces. All of this gives makes Roddick very hopeful that Korda has the potential to reach the top 3 in future.
“He’s not satisfied. He goes and tries to put up the results every week, whether it’s on clay in Europe, whether it is indoors, a Challenger or a Tour event […] and I love seeing that,” Roddick said.
“He’s a complete player. He can take the game to people, can switch directions off of both sides. I love what I see from him and he’s the first guy in a long time that I look at from the States and say that he’s top 3, top 5 potential.”
Roddick also pointed out the areas of weakness in Korda’s play. He highlighted how the American should open his shoulders more to generate more power on his serves. For him, Korda should work a lot on his serves.
“I would love to see him, kind of, open up the shoulders a little bit more on the serve […] and to be able to throw it at 125-130mph with consistency,” said Roddick.
“We remember that match at Wimbledon against Karen Khachanov, where he was broken six times in a set. That’s not going to happen in a year or two from now,” he added.
