Korda wins boys' singles title at Australian Open

Like father, like son.

Twenty years after his father Petr Korda won the men's singles title at the 1998 Australian Open, Sebastian Korda captured a title in Melbourne of his own.

Korda, a 17-year-old from Bradenton, Fla., defeated No. 6 seed Chun Hsin Tseng of Chinese Taipei, 7-6, 6-4, to capture the boys' singles championship at the Australian Open. With the win, he becomes the fifth American ever to win the Australian Open boys' singles title and the third in the last 50 years (Donald Young, 2005; Andy Roddick, 2000; Butch Buchholz, 1959; Gerry Moss, 1955).

"My dad won his only Grand Slam title here, so it’s very special,” Korda said after the match.

Korda, the seventh seed, was playing at the Australian Open for the first time and in his fifth Grand Slam tournament overall. Prior to his win Saturday, his best major result came at last year's French Open and at the 2016 US Open, where he reached the third round.

Korda's run to the championship included straight-set wins over Clement Tabur of France and Adrian Andreev of Bulgaria in the first two rounds, a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Philip Henning of South Africa in the third round, a straight-sets victory over Ray Ho of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals and a 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 win against world No. 2 Marko Miladinovic of Serbia in the semifinals.

Korda, who also reached the doubles quarterfinals at the tournament, said he was hoping to win the title as a birthday present for his father, who turned 50 on Jan. 23.

"Definitely, that was the main goal here, to try to get this tournament for my dad on his 50th birthday. My mom's birthday is on the fifth of February, so it's special, as well," he said.

Korda's win in Melbourne is the fourth straight Grand Slam tournament in which an American has captured a title. Last year, Whitney Osuigwe won the girls' singles title at the French Open, Claire Liu captured the girls' singles championship at Wimbledon, and Amanda Anisimova claimed the girl's singles crown at the US Open.