Lee Hyung-taek Rallies For Dramatic Win

His precious victory was notification of an escape from a slump.

The opening part of this season was a relay of suffering for the representative star of Korean tennis, Lee Hyung-taek (28, Samsung Securities). Lee was determined to make a fresh start after his marriage in February, but fouled up with a bad record instead. Since advancing to the Siebel Open quarterfinals in February, Lee was eliminated in four consecutive ATP first-round matches. He couldn`t play in perfect condition in the Davis Cup due to severe flu. Lee also had to go through hardships off the court when his grandmother, who had taken care of him since his childhood, passed away last month. Lee even felt a sense of crisis in his career when his ATP entry rank fell out of the top 100.

But Lee Hyung-Taek lit a comeback signal, rallying to capture a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the first round of the season’s 2nd major competition, the French Open, which took place in Roland Garros, Paris, France on the 26th. The 123rd seeded Lee outlasted 46th seed Robin Soldering (Sweden) 3-2 (0-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5) in three hours 11 minutes of a full five-set slugfest. This is the first time he has advanced to the second round of a tournament in two straight years. Lee Hyung-Taek, who achieved greatness by advancing to the fourth round of the US Open, became the first Korean to notch a victory in each of the season’s four major competitions.

Lee Hyung-Taek, who missed qualifying for an automatic advancement to the main round due to a declination of rank, seemed destined to fail to achieve his eighth consecutive advancement to major competitions when he lost in the preliminary finals. But after patiently waiting three days, he qualified as a “Lucky Loser” and hopped on one last chance to play in the main rounds.

Lee Hyung-Taek gained confidence after his dramatic rally to victory and will meet wildcard 99th seed Olivier Patience (France) in the 2nd round. Patience, who is equipped with strong strokes, will be a competitive opponent to face since his best performance in majors was a third round finish in the Australian Open. Samsung Securities coach Joo Won-Hong anticipated this, commenting, "Lee survived the worst situation and can implement various shots on clay, so I think we have an adequate chance to win."

Serena Williams (USA), dressed in a two-piece colored dress with her midriff revealed and big pink ear rings, edged out Iveta Benesova (CZE) 2-0 (6-2, 6-2).

"Iron Woman" Martina Navratilova (47, USA), who came back to play singles after a 10-year absence since 1994’s Wimbledon, lost to 19 year old Argentine Gisela Dulko 0-2 (1-6, 3-6).

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com