Sebastian Korda makes history after second title triumph on home soil

Sebastian Korda claimed his second and best title of his career at the Mubadala Citi DC Open after a 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 victory on Sunday night.

The 24-year-old who was competing for his second title after his only title triumph in Rome, fought from a set down to win the crown on home soil.

“I’ve been coming to this tournament since I was a teenager,” Sebastian Korda said in his trophy speech. “My dad used to coach Radek Stepanek, who also won here in 2011.

“We have a lot of history with this tournament, and obviously one of my biggest goals was one day coming here and hopefully winning the tournament and putting my name up there on the stadium. Now that I have the opportunity, this is probably the most special moment of my career so far.”

Korda also used the opportunity to say a big thank you to the fans for their overwhelming support and patience after a two-hour delay due to rain and a three-set women’s final prior to the encounter.

“A big thank you to the crowd,” Korda said. “You guys were unbelievable this whole week, especially tonight. I really used your energy.”

Along with matching his father, Petr Korda, who captured the D.C. title in 1992, the local favorite became the first American man to win the Washington title since Andy Roddick in 2007.

Sebastian Korda and his father became the first father-son team to win the same title in ATP Tour history with their victory.

The victory allowed Korda to climb to a career-high ATP Ranking of the world’s 18th spot on Monday.