Korean tennis men’s singles ace Kwon Soon-woo (61st, Dangjin City Hall) will take the lead in advancing to the round of 16 for the first time in the Davis Cup for two consecutive years.
Kwon Soon-woo will play in the first singles match as a result of the draw before advancing to the final match against Belgium in the 2023 Davis Cup held at the indoor tennis court in Olympic Park, Seoul on the 3rd. The first tape will be cut in this advance, which will be held in 4 singles and 1 doubles.
In the first singles event held from 11:00 am on the 4th, Soon-Woo Kwon will clash with Jiju Berris (115th). Following this, Hong Seong-chan (237th, Sejong City Hall) will play a double match against Belgian ace David Gopin (41st). In doubles on the 5th, Song Min-gyu (147th in doubles, KDB Industrial Bank) and Nam Ji-seong (152nd in doubles, Sejong City Hall) face off against Yoran Bligen (53rd in doubles) and Zander Jill (55th in doubles).
In particular, the 3-single ceremony on the 5th is expected to be a watershed in the game. Kwon Soon-woo is ranked higher than Berris, who will face him in the first singles, and has a high chance of winning as the men’s professional tennis (ATP) tour is on the rise. However, Hong Seong-chan is expected to have a tough fight with Gopin, who once rose to the 7th place in the world. A situation where our players are lagging behind in the doubles rankings. If Kwon Sun-woo must defeat Gopin in the case of thirteen, Hong Seong-chan has a chance to settle in the final fasting.
In terms of ranking, Gopin is higher than Kwon Soon-woo. However, looking at the recent trend, Kwon Soon-woo’s momentum is good. At the ATP tour Adelaide International held in Australia last month, Kwon Sun-woo reached the top by defeating strong players such as Pablo Carreño Busta, who was ranked 15th in the world at the time, and Roberto Bautista Agut (above, Spain), who was ranked 26th.
Regarding the results of the matches that day, Kwon Soon-woo said, “I didn’t pay much attention to either the 1st or 2nd singles.” He then promised, “No one should be caught off guard, but I will do my best.”
He also showed confidence in the match against Gopin and Ace. Kwon Soon-woo said, “The first game is difficult, and it is right to focus on it.” “I have never played with Gopin, but we have trained together a lot, and our styles are similar, so I watched and followed him a lot,” he said. “I want to play the game quickly with a joyful heart rather than burden and tension,” he promised.
메이저놀이터 National team coach Park Seung-gyu also said, “First, if Kwon Soon-woo succeeds and sets the mood, the players will feel comfortable in the back.” He continued, “There is a pressure to win at home unconditionally, but I think good results will come out if we prepare to win.”
The Belgian national team also showed a satisfied expression. Coach Johan van Huck said, “Gopin said that the first singles match was burdensome and he wanted to play the second match.”
“I wanted to play in the afternoon,” said Gopin. Then, regarding Kwon Soon-woo and the 3rd singles on the 5th, he said, “I will focus on the first game because all matches are important.”
If Korea beats Belgium, it will advance to the round of 16 for the second year in a row. In the meantime, at the Davis Cup, Korea has reached the round of 16 in 1981, 1987, 2007 and 2022. There was no round of 16 for two consecutive years.
In March of last year, the national team defeated Austria on the indoor court of Olympic Park and advanced to the round of 16 of the Davis Cup for the first time in 15 years. The players said, “We will do our best as we have good memories of last year.” Tickets for this show were already sold out in 3 days. It remains to be seen whether the national team will rewrite the history of Korean tennis.