File image of American tennis player Sebastian Korda. AFP

Parma: On the eve of Roland-Garros, the 20-year-old American Sebastian Korda marked a career breakthrough by beating the Italian Marco Cecchinato, 6-2, 6-4, in Parma for a first title.

Korda, the son of former world No.2 and Australian Open winner Petr Korda, had never reached a final on the ATP Tour and before the Parma event had never won any matches consecutive on clay.

Cecchinato, who has won his three clay court titles, comes from Brescia, 90 kilometers from Parma.

Fans admitted to the event for the first time supported for the local boy.

“Today I played a really tough opponent and the crowd wasn’t easy,” said Korda. “They continued to cheer him on, but I’m really proud of myself and the way I handled it.”

Although his father is Czech, Sebastian Korda, born in Florida, chose to represent the United States.

Saturday’s victory made him the first American player to win a clay court tournament since Sam Querrey in Belgrade 11 years ago.

“It’s something I dreamed of,” Korda said, adding that he expected to win a title sooner, naming an event in Florida in January.

“I really thought I was going to do it in Delray Beach, and I was kinda heartbroken.”

“But I remained positive, even with such a bad first half of the season on clay,” he said. “I took a few days off, recharged my batteries and had a great week of training in Prague with my dad and my trainer,” said Korda.

Korda plays Pedro Martinez in the first round at Roland Garros where his father reached the final in 1992 by losing to Jim Courier.