Kwon Soon-woo beats Mikael Ymer to reach Adelaide International 2 semifinals

Kwon Soon-woo [AP/YONHAP]

Kwon Soon-woo beat world No. 77 Mikael Ymer in straight sets in the quarterfinals at the Adelaide International 2 on Thursday, advancing to the semifinals at an ATP 250 event for the first time since he won the Astana Open in Kazakhstan in 2021.

Kwon, who ranks lower than Ymer at No. 84, made short work of the Swedish player, winning both sets very quickly; 6-1, 6-2.

The pair had faced off once before, also in Adelaide last year, with Ymer taking that victory in straight sets. Thursday’s match results come as a much needed comeback and a tables-turning scenario for Kwon on the outdoor hard court in Australia.

With the win, Kwon advances to the semifinals where he will face a challenge in the form of world No. 40 Jack Draper of Britain. The pair have very recent history — they played each other for the first time just last week at the Adelaide International 1, with Draper winning; 6-2, 6-1.

Kwon reached the quarterfinals after sailing past Pablo Carreño Busta in the round of 16, winning a grueling three-set match at 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 Wednesday afternoon.

Kwon and Carreño Busta faced off each other for the third time at Adelaide, after the outdoor hard court match at Winston-Salem in the U.S. last year and an outdoor clay quarterfinals match at Marbella, Spain also last year.

Carreño Busta had a head-to-head lead of two over Kwon before Wednesday’s match, making tennis watchers predict that he would have the upper hand in Adelaide as well. But after giving in the first set to Carreño Busta, Kwon made a splendid comeback with a strong forehand and 11 aces to win the match in three sets.

Kwon succeeded in a strong upset over Carreño Busta, ranked at world No. 15 and the second seed in Adelaide.

Kwon has been gradually picking up his game so far this year, climbing up from qualifiers at Adelaide International 2 after crashing out of the 1 circuit. His first serve, return points and aces have all been improving, as noted by Tennis Major and other foreign outlets.

Meanwhile, Thanasi Kokkinakis of Australia beat top seed Russian Andrey Rublev in Adelaide 2 in another upset in the round of 16, with Kokkinakis advancing to face eighth seed Miomir Kecmanovic in the quarterfinals as of press time Thursday.

Off the court, world No. 5 Novak Djokovic was back in the news after leaving a practice session with Daniil Medvedev ahead of the Australian Open on Wednesday, repeatedly receiving medical attention. The practice session was Djokovic’s first in Melbourne since he was deported last year ahead of the 2022 Australian Open.

"It's the hamstring that I had problems with in Adelaide last week," Djokovic told local media on Wednesday. "I just felt it pulling and I didn't want to risk anything worse. I played a set and apologized to [Medvedev] and he was understanding. I just want to avoid any bigger scares before the Australian Open."

Djokovic won the Adelaide International 1 last week despite battling with hamstring issues.

Back at the Adelaide International 2, Kwon and Draper are set to play their semifinal game on center court in Adelaide first thing on Friday morning.

BY JIM BULLEY AND LIM JEONG-WON [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]