Status: Former 1998 Australian Open champion. Winner of ten ATP singles titles including 1993 Grand Slam Cup.
Ht: 6-3 Wt: 160
DOB: January 23, 1968 In: Prague, Czechoslovakia
Residence: Bradenton, FL
Tennis Heroes: “McEnroe, Connors – both lefties. And Lendl.”
Nickname: “Woody.”
Early Tennis Memory: “Goes way back to ’71 or ’72 when I started. I remember I was playing with some friends on the back court and they want to make a picture on the court with my dad. And he had to pull the net down because the net was higher than I was [smiles].”
Pre-Match Feeling: “My mindset? Geez, I don’t even remember, how was it? Just always put some kind of strategy of what I wanted to do.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning Grand Slam. The greatest moment for me was discovering my wife was pregnant right before the Grand Slam. That’s what carried me during the stretch in Doha and Australian Open.”
Most Painful Moment: “There’s a lot of painful stuff. I’d say second half of the year ’98 and beginning of ’99. (What happened, injury?) No. (Oh, the…) Okay.”
Funny Tennis Memory: “I always like to laugh. Because if you’re laughing, you’re having fun. You can achieve more. Anything anyday, I had something I could laugh, spend the time to share some smiles with my friends. Important for me. (Like when you did the scissors kick?) That was something I’d done without any purpose. But when I heard the crowd went Wooooo!, I said, Okay, if I win the fourth set against Pete (Sampras), I’m gonna do it again (Petr won the fourth set but lost 6-4 in the fifth). Then when I came to the States, everybody was talking about it. Kind of felt, like, bad, geez, they don’t talk about tennis, they talk about my scissor kick. But I just kept on doing on the special occasions. But some players took like it was offending, against them. But it was something to show people I was having fun on the courts. And you show some moments. They (are) the one that pay for the tickets. They want to see something they will be talking about back home.”
Funniest Players Encountered: “There’s a lot of guys. I remember – because we have a show in Monte Carlo – I don’t know if we still have it and they do a show and there was one Brazilian guy who could imitate anyone. What was his name? He had the curly hair. He was playing with a Prince racquet. He retired in around 2004. I think he was the captain of the Davis Cup. He could imitate anyone on the court and it was fun.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Always the guys from the top 10.”
Favorite Players To Watch: “I don’t watch than many players these days. If I would have to pick – Federer. He’s playing the full, complete game for me. That’s what I love. You see everything – stay back, creating shots, anything.”
Favorite Meal: “Italian. Whatever is Italian.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Rum raisin.”
Closest Friends From Tennis: “My friends are outside of tennis.”
Favorite Vacation Spot: “When I was playing, I had no holidays. It was impossible with the season, 11 months long. Soon as you put the racquets in the corner, you want to enjoy. You don’t have any needs to go on holiday. You hope you can sit at home and play with kiods and be with the folks at home.”
Best You Ever Felt On Court: “Wimbledon junior final doubles. I played with Tomas Carbonell and we played against a Canadian guy and a guy from Australia. I lost one return. And I felt the best on the court. You thought I was going to tell you the Australian Open final or the five-setter with Pete Sampras at Wimbledon. Those were good matches. But you asked me the match when I felt the best and that was the best. I lost one return. In the final of Wimbledon, 6-1 6-0. And maybe Czech championship under 18, which was at the time the prime tournament for us. With the guy, I lost the first game then I won 12 games in a row. That’s one of my top tennis times. Always the starting point, which means more than the ending point.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “I like people, honest people. That’s the way I am. I don’t like somebody playing games with me, they take you from left to right and they think you’re a complete dummy. I like to be hit directly in the face, not under the belt. That’s probably how I would describe it like.”
Career Accomplishments: Won the 1998 Australian Open by defeating Marcelo Rios 62 62 62; Achieved a career-high ATP singles ranking of #2 in 1998; Won the Australian Open doubles title in 1996 with Stefan Edberg; Finalist at 1992 Roland Garros in singles (lost to Courier) and doubles in 1990 (with Ivanisevic); Compiled a career W-L record of 410-248, Daughter Jessica won the Australian Open major golf tournament in 2012.
Everybody was talking about Korda's Kick
6 comments
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Scoop Malinowski · October 4, 2012 at 2:44 pm
Always enjoyed watching Korda, he looked so different on court with his tall physique and whipping forehand. Remember when he played Sampras at Wimbledon and introduced the famous Korda Kick and it was a huge thrill to see that. And you just couldn’t wait to see him do it again and again. Love the players who can show that kind of flair and showmanship along with spectacular tennis. Korda was a showman and also a brilliant tennis mind. Remember he is the player who took Stepanek under his wing and saw Step’s potential when he was a journeyman doubles player. Said if you listen to my advices you can be top 50 in singles. Sure enough Step listened and went all the way to #8 in the world.
Steve · October 4, 2012 at 3:27 pm
Had one of the coolest looks –like Woodstock.
Steve · October 4, 2012 at 3:31 pm
No questions on Rios???
Scoop Malinowski · October 4, 2012 at 3:57 pm
Steve, Yes I did ask him about Rios that day. These comments about Rios were included in my Rios book. He actually played doubles with Rios, I checked later and it was after the 98 Melbourne final…
Petr Korda (ATP Player): “I beat him badly (in 1998 Australian Open final 6-2, 6-2, 6-2). It was very — actually I had the chance to see the match on video for the first time a month and a half ago. And in TV it looked completely different than it did on the court. But I remember I was really dominating and I was ready for that. I knew this was probably my last chance to win a Slam — and if I played the right game, then I could beat him. I think I really shot him down that day. I know we were hitting the balls very hard. On the TV it doesn’t look like it. I was hitting balls very hard. (What kind of person was Rios?) I think that not many people knew him. Some people had problems with him, he was like a controversial, not many people did like him. But I know him, we play doubles. I don’t know if it was before or after we played in Australian Open. He was a nice guy. Gifted player. And I said in Australia, he can be maybe #1. But it’s most important to win the Slam. Unfortunately for him, he never achieved it. Maybe I was that reason, probably.”
Steve · October 4, 2012 at 5:31 pm
Thanks for sharing. Very interesting. I remember watching some of it on TV and I thought Korda was hitting really hard in that final. That was my main take-away.
Maybe this is in your book/posts but maybe in some strange way Rios didn’t really want to win, didn’t want to do too many interviews. Was relieved he lost. I don’t know…maybe Korda was going to win either way esp. the way he was hitting the ball that day. It was Korda’s day.
Scoop Malinowski · October 4, 2012 at 6:04 pm
An ATP source told me he was in the locker room before and Rios was tight. He was also tight on the court and never really got in the flow. Maybe Korda’s excellence didn’t allow him to. The Nike guy Mike Nakajima told me that Rios actually showed up at the victory party Nike held for Korda (Korda wore Nike for that tournament) which was a big surprise, because he said Federer and Nadal never show up to each other’s victory parties. Not sure about your fear of success theory, but you may be on to somethig Steve.