History was made on Championship Sunday as a memorable 2024 Mubadala Citi DC Open came to a close in Rock Creek Park.
Sebastian Korda secured the biggest title of his career, rallying to beat rising Italian Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-2, 6-0 and joining an exclusive club in the process.
In capturing the DC crown and replicating his father Petr’s feat from 1992, the Kordas are now the first father-son duo in ATP history to win the same tournament.
“I mean, I cried a little bit,” Korda said of the historic win. “Pretty emotional.”
Korda’s personal connection to the tournament dates back to his early teens when he’d follow his father, then a coach, and serve as a personal assistant of sorts. On each of those visits, Korda would see his father’s name on Stadium Court’s awning of champions.
Sunday night, moments after capturing his own DC crown, Sebastian stared at the ‘1992 KORDA’ inscription once more. This time as a fellow champion.
“Every time I walk on center court, I look at 1992,” Korda said. “I think it's pretty special that my dad won here. Obviously, as soon as I won and I sat down in the chair, yeah, I just looked up there, just thought about my dad, my whole family, just how proud they always say they are of me. Just really cool to put my name up there, as well.”
The meaningful title run almost didn’t happen for Korda, who overcame a 6-7, 2-5 deficit in the third round, while overcoming two match points in the eventual win against Thanasi Kokkinakis.
“I was about a couple inches from being on a plane to Montreal honestly,” Korda conceded late Sunday.
Outside of that midweek scare, though, Korda was seemingly in control. He earned straight-set wins in both the quarter and semifinals and was able to rely on a serve that held in 52 of 54 games across the week.
Korda beat Copolli in a three-set battle in Rome this past spring, and the Italian proved a handful again early Sunday.
Capping off the biggest week of his career in his first career ATP final, Cobolli pounced on his first set point. With Korda serving at 4-5, 30-40, Cobolli made good on his first break point chance of the day, firing a crosscourt forehand winner to cap off a lengthy rally and secure the opening stanza.
The players traded holds early in the second, but Korda would ultimately take over. After Cobolli double faulted on break point to give Korda a 3-2 second-set lead, the American never looked back. After breaking again in the seventh game, Korda closed out the second set with an unreturnable serve at 5-2, 40-30.
The third set was more of the same, with Korda breaking three more times and Cobolli sending a forehand return long on match point.
Korda won the final 11 games of the match- breaking Cobolli five times along the way. He also converted on 11 of 17 net points and fired 17 winners.
“I fought hard today,” said Korda, who became the first American male to win the DC crown since Andy Roddick in 2007. “Just stayed with it. Yeah, hope for good things to come.”
Cobolli was making his Washington and showed tremendously resiliency in his DC debut.
No player spent more time on court this week than Cobolli, who saved five match points and came back from a set down to win a third-round marathon over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. He then beat rising American Alex Michelsen in a third-set tiebreak in the quarterfinals, before rallying from a set down and beating World No.14 Ben Shelton in the semifinals.
The 22-year-old conceded Sunday evening, that he ultimately ran out of the gas in the final.
“I was a little bit tired today,” he said. “I spent a lot [of energy] to win the first set, but I enjoyed every moment I spent on the court. It was great to share the court with Seb and to play my first final.”
Cobolli joined Jannik Sinner as the only Italians to reach the Washington final. Sinner won the DC title in 2021 and has since risen to World No.1. Cobolli will now move up to a career-high World No.33.
With his title, Korda is also set to crack the Top 20 for the first time in his career, as he’ll begin the week as the World No.18., joining his father for more history as the first father-son duo to have both ranked inside the Top 20.
