Kwon Soon-woo sets sights on U.S. Open after big Wimbledon match

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Published: 02 Aug. 2022, 14:53 Updated: 02 Aug. 2022, 15:27

Kwon Soon-woo sets sights on U.S. Open after big Wimbledon match

Kwon Soon-woo hits a backhand against Tommy Paul during day three of the Atlanta Open at Atlantic Station on July 27 in Atlanta, Georgia. [AFP/YONHAP]

Kwon Soon-woo is the top-ranked Korean tennis player and the only Korean with the chance to contend for a men's Grand Slam title this year.

After a fruitful season last year that saw Kwon win his first-ever ATP trophy and reach his highest spot on the world ranking in 2021, Kwon has been busy this season as well, competing in the men's singles and doubles in all three Grand Slam events so far, as well as 18 other competitions.

Kwon is currently in the middle of a busy season, most recently falling out of the round of 64 of the Citi Open held in Washington D.C. on Monday after losing to Dominik Koepfer of Germany. Before that, Kwon reached the round of 16 at the Atlanta Open, but lost in two straight sets against Tommy Paul of the United States on July 28.

The JoongAng Ilbo sat down with Kwon in July before he jetted off to the United States to play the Atlanta Open and Citi Open.

Those tournaments act as a warm up for Kwon's ultimate goal: the last Grand Slam of the season. The U.S. Open is scheduled to start on Aug. 29.

"This year I played well but didn't win," Kwon told the JoongAng Ilbo. "I had posted on social media that 'I will go beyond next time' [after Wimbledon] because I want to go beyond the first round in my next Grand Slam whoever it might be against, Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic."

Kwon was unable to advance beyond the second round of the first three Grand Slams this year. The highest that Kwon has ever reached is the third round of the French Open last year.

Kwon reached the second round of the Australian Open in January but was defeated by Denis Shapovalov of Canada. In May, he fell out of the first round of the French Open, with the Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev beating Kwon.

This June, Kwon also crashed out of the first round at Wimbledon but only after putting on an impressive fight against the top-seeded Novak Djokovic, who went on to win his seventh Wimbledon trophy.

At the time, instead of cursing his luck after being drawn against Djokovic in the first round of the tournament on Centre Court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, the Korean tennis player rose to the occasion, capitalizing on his time in the spotlight to put on a show on arguably the most famous tennis court in the world.

Rather than rolling over for a three-set drubbing — as might have been expected from at-the-time world No. 81 Kwon facing the top seeded Djokovic — the top Korean rose to the occasion, forcing the Serbian to four long sets, none of them easily won.

Djokovic took the first set 6-3, struggling to build momentum against the on-point Kwon. That was even more obvious in the second set, when Kwon put in a beautiful performance to take the set 6-3. Djokovic came back for another 6-3 in the third set before triumphing in a close-fought fourth set, 6-4.

Although the end result saw Kwon out of the tournament, his performance as he faced the 20-time Grand Slam winner was still markedly impressive, pushing the match to two hours and 27 minutes and earning a warm standing ovation from a packed Centre Court crowd and praise from Djokovic himself.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic greets Kwon Soon-woo, right, at the net after winning their men's first round singles match on day one of Wimbledon at the Centre Court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on June 27. [EPA/YONHAP]

"Credit to Kwon for playing some really high quality tennis, he deserves an applause definitely," Djokovic said after beating Kwon .

"Always starting the tournament, I didn't have any lead up preparation tournaments or matches prior to Wimbledon, so you were always going to feel less comfortable than you would like to at the beginning, particularly if you are playing against someone as talented as Kwon who stays close to the line and who hits very clean from forehand and backhand side.

"It was really difficult to go through him so I had to figure out a way tactically to get in control of the point, it wasn't easy to put a lot of variety into the game. I think serves helped, I faced a break point in the third set that really, if he broke my serve, it could have really gone a different way, this match."

This year's Wimbledon was the second time Kwon had faced Djokovic. Compared to last May, when the Serbian beat Kwon in two straight sets, 6-1, 6-3, to win the Belgrade Open title, the four-set match that lasted two hours and 27 minutes at Wimbledon is a notable improvement on Kwon's side.

"During the first set [against Djokovic at Wimbledon], I knew that I wasn't going just hand it over to him," said Kwon.

"I pressured Djokovic and found my pace. I think I could have won if I had taken the third set. It's all about experience in the end. I could think that I was unlucky to face such a strong player in the first round but I actually welcome the experience because I think it's a great learning opportunity to play against such a player."

Before facing Djokovic twice, Kwon also faced 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal in 2020 at the quarterfinals of the Mexican Open, where Kwon lost in two straight sets, 6-2, 6-1. Kwon has never faced 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer before.

Kwon has gained experience and confidence since then, and his Wimbledon performance proves that.

"I now have enough experience competing against the top 10 players in the world," said Kwon.

"Now that I feel like I am competitive enough and can put up a fight against those players, I want to be able to reach new heights in the upcoming U.S. Open."

Kwon emerged as a new Korean tennis hopeful in August 2019, when he became only the third Korean tennis player ever to get inside the top 100.

Before Kwon, Lee Hyung-taik was the first Korean to be ranked inside the top 100 in November 2000, when he was only 24 years old. Chung Hyeon made it in April 2015, when he was 19. Lee's highest ranking was No. 36, while Chung's was No. 19.

Kwon currently has one ATP Tour title, the Astana Open title that he won last September in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, becoming the first Korean to win an ATP Tour title since Lee, who won the Sydney International in 2003. Kwon and Lee are the only Koreans ever to win on the top-tier tour.

After winning his first ATP Tour title, Kwon reached a career high world ranking of No. 55. He is currently No. 77.

"Now that I am in the top 100, my next goal is top 10," said Kwon.

"The reason why Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are great players is because of their consistency. I also want to play consistently while staying in the top 100. But I won't stop there, my final goal is of course winning a major title."

BY PI JOO-YOUNG, YUN SO-HYANG [yun.sohyang@joongang.co.kr]