Korean women’s tennis star Jang Soo-jeong (162nd, Daegu City Hall) aimed to advance to the quarterfinals of the Korea Open for the first time in 10 years, but unfortunately failed.
However, she showed off her power by defeating the winner of a major tournament earlier.
Sujeong Jang lost to Emina Bektas (116th, USA) in the singles round of 16 at the Women’s Professional Tennis (WTA) Tour Hana Bank Korea Open (total prize money: $259,303) held at the tennis court at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 12th.
She lost with a set score of 0 to 2 (3-6 4-6).
A repeat of the quarterfinals of this competition has not been achieved since 2013. 토토사이트
Ten years ago, Soo-jeong Jang, who was a third year student at Yangmyeong Girls’ High School at the time, reached the quarterfinals at the Korea Open, the best performance by a Korean player.
However, Jang Soo-jeong left a strong impression in this competition.
In the round of 32 on the 10th, she defeated Sofia Kenin (30th, USA), who won the 2020 Australian Open and was runner-up at the French Open, 2 to 0.
Continuing from 2018, Kenin lost to Jang Soo-jeong again, losing all of his two matches against his opponent.
On this day, Soo-jeong Jang struggled under her opponent’s strong serve and stroke.
In the 2nd set, Jang Soo-jeong took the lead with a game score of 4 to 2, but was pushed back by Bektas’ counterattack, and it was painful to give up her serve game at 4 to 4.
While Soo-jeong Jang only succeeded 3 out of 6 times at break points on this day, Bektas succeeded in 4 out of 5 times and took the lead in the game.
Jang Soo-jeong ended up giving up her last serve ace and the quarterfinals were cancelled.
After the game, Jang Soo-jeong said, “After giving up the first set, I changed my strategy from the second set, took risks, and tried to play aggressively.
I wish I had done the same with the game score of 4 to 2, but I was most disappointed that I lost because I was passive.”
Jang Soo-jeong pondered her regrets over and over again, saying, “If I had done it aggressively, taken the risks into consideration, and continued, I think the result could have been different.”
However, he looked proud of defeating Kenin. Jang Soo-jeong said, “Kenin is a good player, and winning gave me confidence,” and emphasized, “It was a game where we learned a lesson that our players can do well, and I hope that our juniors will also challenge themselves on tours and on big stages.”
Soo-jeong Jang competes against world powerhouses by playing on the WTA tour more consistently than her domestic tournaments.
She has no sponsors and is touring at her own expense. She truly is a pioneer in women’s tennis.
Regarding this, Jang Soo-jeong said, “I am going on tour with my older brother (Jang Gwang-ik), who is 3 years older than me, and if I save and save for a year, it costs about 150 to 200 million won.” “It costs a lot more because we have to catch more,” he said. “It’s so hard for her to travel by plane,” she said.
There were many times when she shed tears. Jang Soo-jeong said, “It would have been nice if her older sisters had taken on the challenge, so she would have someone to ask and get advice from.” She added, “There were seniors like Lee Ye-ra and Kim So-jung, but she finished the tour challenge early. “She said. She continued, “When she comes to her room because she can’t play, when she’s alone, when she feels lonely, when she feels really lonely, she sheds tears.”
But why does she still go on tour? Jang Soo-jeong said, “This is the stage I’ve dreamed of since I was young,” and she said, “I honestly think it’s not possible when I’m not good at it, but it’s fun when I overcome it and feel things getting better.”
He did not forget to give advice to his juniors. Jang Soo-jeong said, “Western players are strong and have good serves, and they cannot win with the speed of their strokes,” and advised, “I think Asian players will have to do strength training and compete with fast legs and precise ball control.” He added, “Baek Da-yeon (NH Nonghyup Bank) also defeated Yelena Ostapenko (Latvia), but she had good legs and played her own game no matter who the opponent was,” adding, “If she plays a little more aggressively here, there will be good results.” .
Jang Soo-jeong has finished the Korea Open, but is preparing to participate in the Australian and Japanese tournaments. Soo-jeong Jang expressed her aspirations, saying, “I want to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam during my career.”
Last year, Soo-jeong Jang reached the top of the WTA for the first time in 40 years since the legend Deok-hee Lee at the WTA 125K Nodia Open held in Sweden in July. Soo-Jeong Jang considered this to be her happiest moment, and her challenge as a pioneer in Korean women’s tennis is not over.