South Korean female tennis players defeated opponents from major championships one after another.
Jang Su-jung (162nd, Daegu City Hall) beat Sofia Kenin (30th, USA) in the first round of the singles at the Hana Bank Korea Open (total prize money of 259,303 dollars) on the Women’s Professional Tennis Tour held at Olympic Park Tennis Court in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 10th. It won the set score of 2-0 (6-1 6-4).
Kenin is a powerhouse who won the Australian Open in 2020 and finished second in the French Open. Kenin, who rose to No. 4 in the world that year, won five singles in his tour. 안전놀이터
But Jang had no fear. Jang Su-jeong won 2-0 (7-6<8-6> 6-3) in her first match against Kenin in 2018. He won again this time, showing a strong performance of two wins in two games against the opponent.
Jang Soo-jung’s victory in the WTA Tour singles finals is the first time in eight months since the Thailand Open in February. It is the first victory in 10 years at the Korea Open since 2013, when it reached the quarterfinals at the time. Jang will face the winner of the match between Emina Bektas (116th, USA) and Laura Pigosi (118th, Brazil) in the second round.
Jang beat the world’s 30th-ranked player for the first time. Previously, beating Clara Jacobalova (Czech Republic), who was ranked 33rd at the time, in the first round of the tournament in 2013 was a victory over the top ranker.
He was full of confidence. Jang Soo-jung took the lead by winning five consecutive games in the first set of game scores of one to one. In the second set, he also secured the victory in an hour and 31 minutes by keeping the serve game with a game score of 4 to 3.
Baek Da-yeon (573rd, NH Nonghyup Bank), who played as a wild card, also worked. She came from behind to win the 2017 French Open and Korea Open winner Elena Ostapenko (17th, Latvia).
Baek Da-yeon won the first round against Ostapenko with a set score of 2-1 (3-66-17-6<4>). He lost the first set but won the second and third sets.
It is the best Ranker among the players beaten by Baek Da-yeon. Ostapenko won the French Open like a comet in 2017, and also won the Korea Open by driving cloud spectators to the final.
In particular, Baek Da-yeon continued the momentum of the Hangzhou Asian Games last month. In women’s doubles with her junior, Information Young, she gave Korean tennis a bronze medal for the first time in 13 years.
Baek Da-yeon bothered Ostapenko with his unique and persistent defense. Ostapenko pressed Baek Da-yeon with a strong stroke, but he made a series of mistakes, and the last point also swallowed the powder as it headed off the line.