Sebastian Korda beat Alexei Popyrin in the first round of the BNP Paribas Nordic Open, and after the match, Bolavip spoke to the American, who opened up about a tough period he has gone through.
Korda has been dealing with a lot of injuries over the past year, and the former world No. 15 has dropped drastically in the rankings. The American revealed that he wasn’t practicing at all before he took a break from tennis following the French Open.
Despite the tough period, Korda produced a very high level on Monday against Popyrin, and the American was happy with the win when we talked to him immediately after the match.
Tough match against ‘tricky’ Popyrin
Popyrin is a former Masters 1000 winner, and the Australian always seems to be a tricky opponent, which Korda also mentioned after the match.
Sebastian Korda trying to reach a ball.
“It was very tough. It is always tough to play Popyrin. We have played three times and the last time we played was in a semi of a Masters 1000, and he is just an extremely highly skilled tennis player,” Korda told Bolavip after the match.
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“He has an incredible serve, he is a good mover and has a good forehand. It was very tricky and I was lucky at some moments. I served horrendously. It’s pretty tough when you don’t have a first serve, but I am happy.”
Korda admits he didn’t train for a long period
The former world No. 15 took almost three months off after the French Open this year, as he had struggled a lot with injuries. Korda now admits that he didn’t train at all during the entire year leading up to the French Open.
“I am feeling pretty good,” he said. “I have had a lot of injuries, but now its more mental than anything. It’s about starting up the machine again and trying to win some ugly matches.”
Korda makes it clear that he is still motivated to improve. However, it has been very tough off the court in 2025: “I think the motivation is still there, more so just getting down on yourself all the time. That hurts a little bit but I have definitely gone through a lot of different emotions in the last year, but I am definitely motivated and I want to keep playing and hopefully raise my level.
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“I mean.. Practicing… Honestly, before I took those months off, honestly I didn’t practice the whole year. It has been like an hour on the court every single day, no fitness really. I was not feeling great, it was definitely not a good feeling. Hopefully it is past me now.”
Korda faces either Kamil Majchrzak or Filip Misolic in the second round in Stockholm, where Bolavip also interviewed Casper Ruud this week.