In the first round of the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, Australian Alex de Minaur defeated American Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 21 minutes.
De Minaur, age 24, is world No. 11. He is a two-time Next Gen ATP Finals runner-up. He achieved his career high of world No. 10 in January 2024 after defeating world No. 1 Djokovic at the 2024 United Cup for the biggest win of his career to lead Team Australia to the semifinals.
Korda, age 23, is world No. 33. He achieved his career high of world No. 23 in October 2023 after reaching his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal at Shanghai, where he earned his biggest win of his career over world No. 3 Medvedev.
The two had played twice before in close matches, with Korda winning at Wimbledon in 2021 and de Minaur winning at the ATP Masters in Paris in 2022.
Korda has a fluid game with a sublime backhand, and he was capable of winning the match with his big serve and his ability to finish points at the net. But he had too many unforced errors, especially on the forehand side.
De Minaur dominated the baseline exchanges and showcased his incredible speed.
In the first set, they stayed on serve until the tenth game, when de Minaur was able to break with Korda missing a backhand dropshot and then sailing a forehand long.
In the second set, de Minaur broke in the sixth game at 15, when Korda netted a forehand. The Australian held with a magnificent backhand volley after a long rally and then a fantastic forehand volley to the open court.
At this point, Korda seemed almost resigned to his fate, while de Minaur was positive, upbeat.
Korda had better body language in the next game, holding at 15, with scintillating serving.
In the final game, de Minaur had three match points and was able to win on the third with a wonderful serve down the T.
De Minaur won 87% of first serve points, with five aces. He had only one double fault. He struck 14 winners and 12 unforced errors.
Korda won 73% of first serve points, with 11 aces. He also had only one double fault. He struck 18 winners and 30 unforced errors.
In his on-court interview after the match, de Minaur said: “Yeah, I felt great. It’s great to be back here in Rotterdam, a place where I’ve played some great tennis. The crowd is always great. And I’m happy to be back and win my first round.”
Next up for de Minaur is the talented veteran David Goffin.
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