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Sebastian Korda's quest to match his father's achievement of winning the Australian Open remains on track after advancing to the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park.
Key points:
- Korda defeated Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10/7)
- It is the first time Korda has made the quarterfinals of a major
- His father Petr won the Australian Open men's title in 1998
Petr Korda won the men's title in 1998, claiming victory in the final on Rod Laver Arena.
Playing on the same court on Sunday, the junior Korda defeated 10th-seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz in a gripping five-setter, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10/7) in three hours and 28 minutes.
Korda will play Russian 18th seed Karen Kachanov in the quarterfinals, the first time the 22-year-old has progressed this far at a major.
Kachanov did not lose a game in the opening two sets against Japan's 31st seed Yoshihito Nishioka, before surviving a third-set tie-break to win 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (7/4).
In another last-16 encounter, unseeded Czech Jiří Lehečka, who had never previously progressed from the first round at a major, upset Canada's sixth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/3) to grab a spot in the quarterfinals.
Enjoying the lion's share of crowd support against Hurkacz, Korda took a little while to get going after dropping his serve in the second game on his way to losing the first set.
The second set was a different story, with Korda taking control of the match from world number 11 Hurkacz.
He got the crucial break of serve in the sixth game en route to levelling the match at one set all.
Korda saved two break points in the third set, while a double break of Hurkacz's serve helped him move just one set away from victory.
However, Hurkacz found a response, which was not surprising considering his talent has taken him as high as number nine on the world rankings in 2021, the same year he made the Wimbledon semifinals.
Hurkacz broke Korda twice to force a fifth set, which went on serve before being decided by a 10-point tie-break.
With the crowd chanting "Korda, Korda" around the stadium, Korda leapt out to 7-3 lead in the tie-break, leaving him only three points away from victory.
Hurkacz worked his way back into the contest to level at 7-7, but Korda claimed the next three points, with a cool backhand winner icing the result.
"You don't really practice it too much, playing to 10 points," Korda told reporters at Melbourne Park.
"Those are the toughest points to win, those last three there. They're brutal in a way.
“I played a couple loose points, but Hubie (Hurkacz) also played a little better in that situation, [he] got it back.
"Then, I kind of found my feet again and played three great points to close it out.”
Korda's sporting family
Korda's performance no doubt made his talented family proud.
His father represented Czech Republic when he won the Australian Open 25 years ago but the younger Korda plays under the United States flag, having been born in Florida.
He is regarded as one of the rising talents on the ATP Tour and will enjoy a rankings hike from his current standing of 31 whenever his Australian Open campaign concludes.
An Australian Open junior champion in 2018, Korda underlined his promise when he stretched Novak Djokovic to three sets in the recent Adelaide International final, even holding a match point, while in the third round at Melbourne Park he defeated two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.
Not only was his father and mother, Regina, tennis professionals, Korda's sisters Jessica and Nelly are outstanding golfers.
Despite his star being on the rise, Korda joked he was "the worst athlete in the family so far" following his win over Medvedev.
He had already spoke to his parents following his win over Hurkacz, but was hoping sister Nelly was getting some sleep ahead of the final round of the LPGA Tour event in Orlando where she is tied for second.
"My parents, they were up, they stayed up," Korda said.
"My oldest sister (Jessica), she's up, she's not playing this week. My other sister Nelly, I think she's second place right now playing in a tournament.
"I hope she's sleeping. I hope she didn't watch and she's getting ready for a big day today."