Sebastian Korda captured his third ATP title by beating fellow American 6-4, 6-3 in the Delray Beach Open final on Sunday afternoon. Korda, the Delray Beach runner-up five years ago, escaped from a 0-40 deficit while serving for the championship at 5-3 in the second set. He prevailed after one hour and 22 minutes.
“It’s as satisfying as it can get, winning a tournament (after serving) from 0-40 down,” the world No. 50 commented. “I’ve put in a lot of hard work, especially mentally, the last couple of weeks — just trusting the process, going after my shots, and not really getting into any negativity.”
There was no reason for Korda to have been negative during the week, as he was without question the best player from start to finish. The 25-year-old knocked out three of the top five seeds in Paul (No. 3), Casper Ruud (No. 2), and Flavio Cobolli (No. 3). He also disposed of countrymen Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen in the first and second rounds, respectively.
In Sunday’s title tilt, Korda handled brutal conditions better than Paul. In extreme wind, Korda served at 67 percent and fired nine aces to only two double-faults. He was broken just once and answered that lone break in the first game of the second set with an immediate break back.
It looked like Paul would stay alive with his second break of the match in what turned out to be the final game, but Korda saved a total of four break points in clutch fashion to get across the finish line.
“(It means) a lot,” Korda said. “I’ve been through some stuff the past couple of months (and) years. I’ve lost a lot of finals, and now to get one here in Delray…this is where I made my first ATP final, so it’s like a full-circle day. I’m just happy.”
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.