Daniil Medvedev reacts to avoiding surprise loss to Sebastian Korda

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Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev played an inspiring tennis to beat rising American star Sebastian Korda at the Paris Masters. Medvedev, seeded at No. 2, struggled a bit but managed to overcome Korda in three sets 4-6 6-1 6-3 in the Paris round-of-16.

It was the first meeting between the two and world No. 39 Korda was a set away from stunning Medvedev. "I had adrenaline going [from another hot shot earlier in the game] and that's how it's possible to make these shots. It was a little bit of luck, a little bit of skill and a little bit of magic," Medvedev said, per the ATP website.

Medvedev dominated after losing the first set

Medvedev pressured Korda's serve early on but the American saved a break point in the fourth game and two more break points in the sixth game. After saving a total of three break points, Korda claimed the first break of the match in the ninth game before serving out for the opener in the 10th game.

After losing the first set on a disappointing way, Medvedev broke Korda twice in the second set to easily force a decider. In the third set, Medvedev broke Korda three times and lost his serve once to complete a comeback win.

"It was a tough first set where I felt that I had the margin but I didn't manage to break him [from 0/40 at 3-2] and he turned it around against me," Medvedev said. "But I was really happy that I stayed calm and kept my level and that was enough to win today”.

Before the match, Medvedev said he didn't expect an easy job against Korda. "It’s always exciting to play someone for the first time,” Medvedev said. “We’ve never even practised together. He just had a great win over Marin who is coming off a tournament win, so I’m very excited to play him tomorrow."