"Wimbledon favorite losing in the 1st round 2nd year in a row" - Fans tease Sebastian Korda after 2024 exit as earlier comments resurface

Sebastian Korda has been ousted from the ongoing Wimbledon Championships by big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round. Korda suffered the same fate last year as well, when Jiri Vesely knocked him out of the Grasscourt Major at the first hurdle. The loss to Vesely came after Korda had expressed his feelings about being one of the favorites for the title.

Korda's encounter against Mpetshi Perricard on Tuesday, July 2, was a tight affair across the first four sets, with each set being decided by a tiebreak. However, Mpetshi Perricard asserted his superiority in the fifth and deciding set, when it mattered most. Ultimately, the Frenchman, who hit a staggering 51 aces, won the match 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-3.

In the aftermath of his first-round exit at SW19 for the second year in a row, tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit recalled Korda's "favorite" feeling ahead of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

"I move really well and definitely have a game that not very many people have, I’m an aggressive player, I like to come to the net, I have good hands, and I definitely feel as if I’m one of the favorites at Wimbledon," Korda had said.

One set of fans talked about how the World No. 21 has suffered back-to-back first-round exits at SW19 since expressing that he felt like a title contender last year.

"Wimbledon favorite losing in the first round for a 2nd year in a row," wrote a fan.

"2nd year in a row that he's lost in the first round against a player he should beat. Crazy how he thought he should be one of the favourites last year," one fan wrote.

"Since Korda stated last year that he was one of the favorites to win Wimbledon... he didn't enjoy the ride at SW19.. .to say the least," commented another fan.

"Number of matches won by Sebastian Korda at Wimbledon after this press conference: 0(!!!)," wrote another fan, followed by a clown emoji.

"From this, to losing to a lucky loser in a little over a year.. Korda, Shelton, and Tiafoe are by far the most overrated players on the tour, USA is good at so many things, tennis is not one of them," opined yet another fan.

Another set of fans dismissed the World No. 21's chances of success going forward based on his display against Mpetshi Perricard.

"This match is exactly the reason why Sebastian Korda will never do anything special in tennis," one fan wrote.

"If tennis couldn’t be bet on, no one would know who Sebastian Korda is. But because it is legal, we all HATE that dumb f**k," another fan weighed in.

Sebastian Korda laid bare his ultimate tennis goal last year

Sebastian Korda

After reaching the semifinals of the 2023 Shanghai Masters, Korda opened up on his "ultimate goal in tennis". According to the 23-year-old, it's all about surpassing the achievements of his father Petr, who won the 1998 Australian Open.

"I would love to be better than my dad. My ultimate goal in tennis is to win two Grand Slams, one more than my dad," Korda said during a press conference.

However, Korda still seems a long way away from reaching the kind of form required to muster a deep run at a Major. So far, his best Grand Slam finish has come at the 2023 Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals.

Korda has never made it beyond the fourth round at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships. At the US Open, his record is even more dismal, with a second-round finish in 2022 being his best run at Flushing Meadows.