STARNBERG, November 8, 2020
US-American young gun Sebastian Korda has clinched his maiden trophy on the ATP Challenger Tour, his first singles title as a professional tennis player. The 20-year-old from Bradenton, Florida, defeated Ramkumar Ramanathan of India 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday’s singles final of the €88,520 Challenger Eckental, held at the House of Sports in Eckental.
In the pair’s first meeting, No. 7 seed Korda won 78 per cent of his first-service points and broke his opponent three times to prevail after one hour and 23 minutes.
Meanwhile at Eckental Challenger in Germany, 20-year-old @SebiKorda 🇺🇸 has clinched his first singles 🏆 as a professional tennis player.
He defeats Ramkumar Ramanathan 🇮🇳 in the final 6-4 6-4.
🎥: Fabian Reisch pic.twitter.com/k7iEW4dQFE
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) November 8, 2020
“I am super happy, as it was a super tough match today,” said Korda and was pleased with his performance on the fast surface in Eckental. “Especially the serves and volleys on carpet, it wasn’t easy. He’s got a very good serve. In the past I got angry with myself but I’m happy with the way I stayed calm today and the way I finished the match.
“The break (suspension of the tour due to the coronavirus outbreak) really helped me to work on my body. I am pretty skinny and tall, so to get a couple of months off and work on myself was really big for me. Then I got a good opportunity to compete at the US Open and I felt comfortable to play against the bigger guys. Ever since then, I have felt comfortable the way I am playing.”
And how will the next couple of hours look like for the champion? “I have to fly back to the US tomorrow at 6 am, but I will definitely celebrate then,” said Korda and takes away from Germany €12,200 in prize money as well as 100 ATP Ranking points. He now holds a 13-2 record in his last 15 matches, reaching a new career-high of World No. 116.
