Tag: Underdog

Sebastian Korda, the American tennis star, will face Jordan Thompson of Australia in the quarterfinals of the Washington D.C. Open on Friday, August 2. Korda advanced to this stage after a fortunate victory over Thanasi Kokkinakis, while Thompson has been in impressive form throughout 2024.

Korda’s victory over Kokkinakis was a tale of two halves. The Australian appeared to have the match in hand, but Korda managed to pull off an improbable shot to save a match point and steal the second set. Kokkinakis then retired in the third set due to an injury.

Despite his fortunate victory, Korda’s performance has been far from convincing. The American has struggled with his consistency and has not been playing at the level he was last year. His hold percentage is down, and he is not returning as well as he did in previous seasons.

In contrast, Thompson has been one of the most underrated players on the planet in 2024. The Australian has a career-high winning percentage of 59.1% and has won more matches this season than any other in his career. Thompson is a rock-solid server, can grind from the baseline, and is extremely competent at net.

Thompson’s ability to stay solid while constructing points is troubling for players like Korda, who are prone to making mistakes. The Australian is likely to cruise through some service games and extract errors from Korda’s baseline play.

While Korda may be the higher-ranked player, Thompson has been in much better form this season. The Australian has won nine of his last 12 matches and is more likely to solve problems on the court.

Given Thompson’s impressive form and Korda’s struggles, the Australian is a tempting underdog at +150.