18 years since Lee Hyung-taek in 2003
Kwon Soon-woo (24, Dangjin City Hall, 82nd) advanced to the singles final of the men’s professional tennis (ATP) tour tournament for the first time in 18 years as a Korean player.
Kwon Soon-woo won the ATP Tour Astana Open singles semifinals on the 25th (Korea time) in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, 2-1 (3-6 7-5 6-3) over Alexander Bublick (Kazakhstan, 34th).
It is the first time in 18 years and 8 months since Lee Hyung-taek (45, retired) who won the Adidas International championship in January 2003 for a Korean player to reach the ATP Tour singles final.
Kwon Soon-woo will face James Duckworth (Australia, 65th) in the final on the 26th for the championship.
Hyung-taek Lee is the only Korean player to win the ATP Tour singles event.
Hyeong-taek Lee reached the singles finals in two tour competitions. In January 2003, he won the Adidas International Championship, and in May 2001, he lost to Andy Roddick (retired, USA) in the final of the US Clay Court Championship by a 0-2 (5-7 3-6) runner-up.
Hyun Jung won the Next Generation in November 2017. However, the Next Generation is a competition for players under the age of 21, and is not a regular tour competition.
If Kwon Soon-woo wins the final on the 26th, he will be the second Korean player to lift the ATP Tour singles trophy after 18 years after Lee Hyung-taek in 2003.
Before this tournament, Kwon’s best performance on the ATP tour was reaching the semifinals at the Viking International held in Eastbourne, England in June this year.
Kwon Soon-woo, who has secured 150 ranking points, is expected to rise to around 65th in the world rankings next week. Kwon Soon-woo’s personal best world ranking was 69th in March last year.
Kwon Soon-woo gave up the first set and faced a game score of 5-5 in the second set, but won two games in a row to balance the set score. Soon-woo Kwon drove the momentum and took 3 sets to win.
Kwon Soon-woo’s final opponent, Duckworth, also stepped on the final stage for the first time in a tour competition. His personal best world ranking is 65th.
This is the first time Kwon Soon-woo and Duckworth are facing each other.
