Sebastian Korda finds his form, reaches Delray Beach Open finals

DELRAY BEACH – Sebastian Korda’s game was in a rut last month, losing in the first round of the Australian Open amid a poor start to 2026.

But the American from Bradenton has regained his mojo in Delray Beach. The 6-foot-5 zoomed into the Delray Beach Open finals with a 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 triumph over No. 3 seed Flavio Cobolli (Italy) on Feb. 21 at the Delray Beach Tennis Center.

It’s Korda’s second finals berth at Delray, having made it in 2021. In the deepest field in Delray Beach Open history, Korda didn’t get a seed as he was ranked No. 50 entering the event. (Eight entrants were in the top 30).

“It’s awesome – a month ago I didn’t know what I was going to do,’’ said Korda, who upset No. 2 seed Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals.  “It’s just believing in myself. One of the biggest things in tennis is just to have a lot of confidence. When your low in confidence everything goes with it and you don’t have self-belief. I’ve channeled it the last couple of weeks.’’

In Sunday’s final, Korda, whose father was tour star Petr Korda, will face the winner of Saturday night’s match between American upstart Learner Tien and Tommy Paul of Boca Raton. Regardless, the final will be an All-American affair for just the fifth time in its 34th edition.

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On Saturday, Korda crushed the tiebreaker by slamming three aces in a 7-1 romp, crushing the Italian’s spirit.

“It’s good to take your own car and drive down,’’ said Korda, who grew up in Bradenton after his father moved from Czech Republic during his playing days. “It’s pratty nice. It doesn’t happen too often but you get it twice a year. I take full advantage. It super fun playing in Florida. I grew up in the sun and heat and humidity. Something I enjoy playing in.’’

The tournament’s biggest story has been Tien, the 20-year-old American who made his breakthrough at the Australian Open. He advanced to the Delray Beach Open semifinals Friday nightm, upsetting Frances Tiafoe in a three-set thriller – 7-6 (5), 3-6, 7-5.

Tien, who made the Aussie Open quarterfinals last month, was down an early break in the deciding third set in the Feb. 20 match.

The lefthander trailed Tiafoe, 4-5, before rallying to win three straight games to reach the Saturday night’s semifinals vs. fellow American Tommy Paul, a Boca Raton resident.

Known for his high tennis IQ and big lefty forehand, Tien broke Tiafoe at love to close it out with a swarm of fans rooting for the upstart and not the usually super popular Tiafoe, who lives in Boca Raton.

“It wasn’t looking too great,’’ Tien said in Saturday’s post-match interview. “I saw my mom sitting  up there. I knew if I lost, she’d be leaving tomorrow. I was thinking that during the match and it really hit home at 4-5 when I could really see the end.’’

It was a full day of quarterfinal upsets at the ATP 250 event with Paul ousting his top-seeded buddy and 2023/24 champion Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 6-3,  The two Americans met in the 2024 Delray Open finals that Fritz captured.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Sebastian Korda reaches Delray Beach Open finals after slow start