Twenty five years after his father, Petr Korda, played for the third and final time at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Sebastian Korda made a flying start on his tournament debut here with a 6-0, 6-2 win over Pavel Kotov of Russia on Monday.
But before playing his first match in Dubai, Korda flew high into the Emirate’s sky to enjoy the breathtaking view of the city.
Less than 48 hours before his opening match, the 23-year-old American tennis star, and his girlfriend Ivana Nedved, daughter of iconic Czech footballer Pavel Nedved, enjoyed a hot-air balloon ride at Atlantis, the Palm.
“I was fortunate to do a hot-air balloon experience, over the Atlantis. The ATP took us out there, and we were 200 metres above air, we got to see the Palm and the Atlantis and everything over there. It was an amazing experience,” Korda told the Khaleej Times on Sunday.
In what is his first Dubai visit, Korda says he would soak up all the amazing experiences this beautiful city has to offer.
“Yesterday in the evening, we went to the Dubai Mall, and we got to experience a few things here and there, but obviously there is a lot more things that I would like to experience. Hopefully after the tournament I can see a lot more places,” he said.
Korda, whose sisters, Jessica and Nelly, are successful professional golfers, is also looking forward to enjoying a round of golf in Dubai.
“I would love to experience that in Dubai, they also have night-time golf, it would be a really cool thing to do,” he said.
Korda, who won the 2018 Australian Open boys’ title 20 years after his father famously won the 1998 Australian Open, is hoping to follow in the footsteps of many top players who have made Dubai their second home.
“Yeah, for sure. I think Dubai is probably the best place for the pre-season (training) now,” he said.
“The amount of players that are here, especially the high-level players. Everyone comes here to practice, obviously the weather is probably the best around the world during the time of the pre-season. Definitely I would love to be here and play with a lot of great players.”