Gael Monfils and Sebastian Korda’s Miami Open match was hit by more delays when they finally returned to the court following a washout. No. 24 seed Korda was leading by a break at 4-3 in the final set when the match was suspended due to rain just before 2.30pm local time in Miami.
The players finally returned to the main Stadium court three hours later. But they were held on the court for half an hour and still couldn’t play as fans started to boo during the unusual circumstances. Stadium announcers were forced to explain why the match was being pushed back again, and play finally resumed three hours and 45 minutes after the last point.
There were plenty of interruptions in Monfils and Korda’s grudge match. Just over two weeks after Monfils got the better of the American in Indian Wells, they got the chance to face off again in Miami.
But it was a stop-start affair, with the delays lasting longer than the match. Play was suspended for almost 13 minutes at 1-1 in the third set when heavy clouds suddenly plunged the court into darkness and Monfils asked for the lights to be turned on, which turned out to be a tough task.
Korda then broke to lead 4-3 and called a medical time out. After receiving treatment from the trainer, it started to rain. The players were held on the court and attempted to play one point but the rain got heavier and play was suspended with the players leaving the court.
They finally returned around three hours later. But they still weren’t able to continue the match as the court remained too slippery, even after the rain had stopped.
Fans on the Stadium court grew increasingly confused when Monfils and Korda stayed put at their benches instead of getting back on the court and emcee Andrew Krasny had to issue an announcement explaining that the court was still too wet to play.
Finally, half an hour after they had returned to the court, the players returned to the baseline for a warm-up before resuming the match.
Korda quickly held to love to put himself within a game of the match and he eventually served out a 6-4 2-6 6-4 win, getting revenge after losing to Monfils earlier this month.
The 24-year-old dedicated his victory to his girlfriend, Ivana Nedved – the daughter of football icon Pavel Nedved – on her birthday. “Happy birthday my love,” he wrote on the camera lens alongside a heart.
Afterwards, Korda confirmed that his wrist was still a problem after receiving the earlier medical time out.
“It’s pretty painful right now but we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. A lot of work with the physio now and see where tomorrow takes us,” the Florida native said after reaching the quarter-final in his home tournament.
Korda will now face either Novak Djokovic of Lorenzo Musetti for a spot in the last four.