On Friday, August 2, Sebastian Korda will look to get the better of Jordan Thompson. Korda, who I had as part of a winning two-leg parlay on Thursday, is only here because he hit one of the luckiest shots of the year. Thanasi Kokkinakis looked like he was about to put away a match point in the second set, but Korda somehow got his racquet on it and it dropped in. Korda then stole the second set, and Kokkinakis retired in the third with an injury.
Korda is unquestionably fortunate to still be in the tournament, which for him is all that matters. But the American’s performance was so lousy that it’s hard not to like Thompson as a big underdog today.
Korda has won two straight in Washington D.C., but the American was on a two-match slide before getting back on hard courts, and is just 24-16 on the year. His hold percentage is also down from last year, and he’s not returning as well as he did in 2021 or 2022. The American just looks a little lost out there, and he tends to be good for a bad miss when rallies go long.