THE MODERATOR: How are you feeling coming into your 2025 season?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Feeling pretty good. Love to come back here to Adelaide. Hopefully can get a lot of matches and get ready for Melbourne.
THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.
Q. How is the shoulder?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: My elbow. Right elbow surgery. All went pretty well. I think I spent the last two months just practicing and getting comfortable. Yeah, hopefully a big test coming up.
Q. You're feeling good?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, all is good.
Q. When you had the injury, you had that really good Washington and Cincinnati I think.
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Montreal.
Q. It must have been doubly frustrating to be injured and the timing of the injury.
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, it was definitely frustrating. I've had a few of those actually in my career. Yeah, it was frustrating. I was playing probably some of the best tennis I've played in a long time. Everything was feeling good. I got to the US Open and just all turned around from there.
Q. Mentally how do you cope with that? Four, five months out.
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, definitely pretty pissed off. You try to move on as fast as possible, surround yourself with good people, try to stay positive.
But yeah, I guess it's a long process. I guess it's one that every athlete goes through. Yeah, you just try to deal with it the best you can.
Q. Can I ask you about your first matches here. You've beaten both Spaniards. Will you watch their match in person or just on TV? Does it not matter?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: No, I'll definitely watch. I love watching tennis. I watch every match imaginable I think every week.
Yeah, I'll watch a little bit at home. I won't go to the courts and watch. I think my coach will watch on-site, a few points. We'll do somewhat of a tactics and get ready for the match and play.
Q. How does it feel to be on court at the moment?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: It feels pretty good. Definitely my happy place to be on court. Especially here in Adelaide. Some good memories. Just happy to be back playing. I think it's a lot of fun.
Q. Obviously good memories here, you made a final. What do you think it will take to go that step further?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, I don't know. I'll see. First match in a long time. I'll see how I'm feeling. Hopefully I can play some good tennis.
Just hoping to play a good first match.
Q. American tennis, the men at the moment, is in great shape. What about being American right now as a tennis player makes you different from the rest?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: I think we're all pretty close. I think a lot of great, healthy competition. I think when one guy has a great result one week, another guy's backing it up the next week. We got a great group going on, especially with Davis Cup. We all get along really well. We practice with each other every week.
Yeah, I think a lot of great players right now on the American scene. Hopefully we can keep pushing each other, keep getting better and keep having some great results.
Q. You come from a big sporting family. Do you share advice, tips? You play different sports, but the mentality of a pro athlete. Anything you share amongst each other?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, it's different sports from tennis to golf. Both an individual sport, so there's some similarities, for sure.
You definitely go through some things throughout your career that my sisters can help me with or I can help my sisters with. I think that's a great thing to have. Both my parents have gone through everything I've gone through in my career. Just a lot of great people to have on your corner. Just a lot of support from my family. It's a lot of fun to share these moments with them.
Q. You went to the zoo the other day. You fed a pygmy hippo.
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah.
Q. Did you get close?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, I mean, my girlfriend and myself, we love going to zoos. It's kind of our thing. I think we went to Cleland two years ago. Now we went to the zoo. Pretty fun. Got the opportunity to feed a pygmy hippo and see some other animals, which is a lot of fun.
Q. Did you have a favorite?
SEBASTIAN KORDA: Yeah, I was actually amazed by a pelican, the size of pelicans here. Double the size from where I'm from. Pretty crazy.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports