Clay is infamous for being the most challenging surface in tennis. Balls bounce high, but shots lose much of their initial speed due to the nature of the surface. Players such as Daniil Medvedev have shared their disdain for it. However, Petr Korda, a Czech legend, insisted his son, Sebastian Korda, play on clay to learn “real tennis” and to become a big challenge for his next opponent at the French Open, Carlos Alcaraz.

Sebastian Korda, a 23-year-old American player, recently came off of a victory against Kwon Son-Woo, 6-4, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, in round 2. The youngster attained two victories on clay for the first time in 2024. Patricio Apey, a close friend of the Korda family, interviewed with Clay and shared Sebastian’s journey of development.

As per him, “He is genius, he is crazy. He had crazy methods. For example, he wouldn’t allow Sebastian to play on hard courts. Maximum one tournament a month. He would make him train on clay because he wanted him to really learn how to play tennis.”

The young ATP player had hilariously labeled himself “the worst athlete in the family”, at least until recently. Per Clay, his mother Regina Rajchrtová was ranked 26th in the early 1990s, and it wasn’t until 2023 that her son passed this record, also Sebastian’s best ranking.

While most of the tournaments in the year are played on hard courts, clay courts are more difficult to manage as shot power reduces. To further make it difficult for Sebastian, Petr would mess with his socks and ask him to pick shots where balls would change a trajectory.

The challenge continues to amp up for Korda, who will now play Carlos Alcaraz in round 3. The Spaniard has managed to demolish his opponents so far and looks to do the same to Korda. Despite the several challenges Sebastian has had to face, Petr firmly believes his son can be better than him.

1998 Australian Open champion believes son Sebastian Korda can surpass his glory

Petr Korda is a legend of the sport by all means. The former Czech player won the 1998 Australian Open and reached the final of the 1992 French Open. Furthermore, he won the now-defunct Stuttgart Masters in 1998. He has achieved some of the biggest titles in the sport but believes his son can go beyond his accomplishments.

However, there is one stipulation, “If I don’t find a way to fu*k it up, Seba will be better than me.” Although not a part of his coaching team, Petr aims to be the mentor his son needs to flourish and bring back tennis glory to the US.

Sebastian aims to heed his father’s advice and learn from his experience to ensure he can attain similar glory. For now, Alcaraz puts his French Open future in trouble.