Pablo Carreño already accumulates some achievements that place him among the greatest tennis players that the Navy has given over the years. This Thursday, at the Australian Open, the man from Gijón won 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (6) and 6-3 in 3h27 against American Sebastian Korda, who had been playing at a high level, and added his 50th Grand Slam win, which makes him in the 16th Spanish, sixth active (along with Nadal (294), Verdasco (113), Robredo (107), Feliciano López (98) and Bautista (69)), which reaches that number in the history of tennis. Thanks to that victory, he will play the round of 16 of the tournament for the third time. His rival on Sunday will be Matteo Berrettini, whom he has not faced so far.
Carreño had, among many others, the merit of saving 11 break points and breaking Korda’s service six times despite the 21-year-old and 43rd of the world endorsed him 21 aces. In winning shots they were almost on par (53-51), as well as in unforced errors (49-42). So the key was taking advantage of those break balls.
Pablo narrowly missed the third set, but he was temperate enough not to fall apart and, knowing he was dominating the match, close it in the fourth, a very lively set with alternatives. All despite the fact that he had to be treated for lumbar discomfort. Let’s hope they don’t go any further, because he will need all his energy to try to beat Berrettini and get into the quarterfinals.
Australian Open Men’s Draw.