Sebastian Korda has announced that he will join his idol Rafael Nadal in the Nike family. Korda, 22, took to Instagram, where he made the announcement and also reflected on his season. Korda, ranked 34th in the world, did not win a title this year, but last month he finished runner-up in Gijon and Antwerp.
Now that Korda is part of the Nike family, he is determined to do great things. «Insanely excited and grateful to officially join the @nike family! I can’t wait to make some great memories representing this amazing brand.
My 2022 season is over. A long year with many lessons learned. Thank you all for the support throughout the year, I can’t wait to start again. Let’s make it special. I’m ready,» Korda wrote on Instagram.
Korda almost became the first player to beat Nadal in 2022
In March, Korda faced Nadal in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters.
Nadal, who was undefeated on the year at the time, escaped with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(3) win. After easily winning the second set, Korda was up by two breaks in the third set and held a 5-2 lead. Korda then suffered a stunning collapse when Nadal won via a third-set tiebreak.
After the match, Nadal was honest and admitted that he did not know how he got away with a victory. “I don’t know how I won the match. I was very lucky as I probably played one of my worst matches of the year.
Sebastian played well, he was very aggressive and it was not easy to control his balls. I didn’t serve well and he put pressure on me on the return. My forehand did no damage, but I still managed to win. I feel sorry for Sebastian, since he probably deserved the win more than me.
I am delighted to pass and will try to level up in the next one. Sebastian started making mistakes while he was serving for the match and I also passed him twice. I can’t say much, I’m super happy to get through, but I have to play better,» Nadal said after escaping a loss to Korda.
