Kwon Soon-woo (Dangjin City Hall, 61st), who will be competing in the 2023 Davis Cup Finals qualifiers against Belgium, is the ace and youngest member of the Korean men’s tennis team.
The Korean men’s tennis team, consisting of Kwon Soon-woo, Hong Seong-chan (Sejong City Hall, 237th place), Song Min-gyu (KDB Industrial Bank, doubles 147th place), and Nam Ji-seong (Sejong City Hall, doubles 152nd place), took place on the 4th and 5th at the Olympic Park indoor tennis court in Songpa-gu, Seoul. They will face Belgium in the 2023 Davis Cup Finals qualifiers (4 singles, 1 doubles).
In the Korean national team, Kwon Soon-woo has the highest singles world ranking. In addition, Kwon Sun-woo took the top spot in the singles event at the 2nd Adelaide International International last month, increasing the number of individual victories on the Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) tour to two, setting a new record for the most wins by a Korean male player.
However, he is the youngest along with Hong Seong-chan. Kwon Soon-woo and Hong Seong-chan were both born in 1997. Song Min-gyu was born in 1990 and Nam Ji-seong was born in 1993.
For Kwon Soon-woo, who has been on tour for many years, it is special to play with Korean players at the Davis Cup.
Attending a pre-press conference for the Davis Cup qualifiers held at the Olympic Park indoor tennis court on the 2nd, Kwon Soon-woo introduced himself and laughed, saying, “The youngest member of the national team.”
Kwon Soon-woo said, “As the youngest, I seem to be the mood maker once in a while. Since I train with Korean players, I feel less lonely than when I was on tour. The atmosphere is good and it’s fun.”
However, as an ace, he has a lot of responsibility. He said, “As much as it is a national competition, I feel a little more pressure and tension because I have a lot of responsibility.”
Kwon Sun-woo won the second round of the Adelaide International last month, but was eliminated in the first round of the Australian Open singles finals, the first major tournament of the season, unable to overcome the aftermath of a forced march through 10 matches for about two weeks.
Originally scheduled to play in the Australian Open doubles pairing with Miomir Ketsmanovic (Serbia), Kwon Soon-woo felt a sore hamstring and gave up the doubles and returned home on the 18th of last month.
Kwon Soon-woo said, “I have been training normally since this week,” and said, “It was after playing a lot at the Australian Open.”
Korea will challenge to advance to the round of 16 for the first time in history in the finals qualifier against Belgium. Korea defeated Austria 3-1 in the preliminary round of the finals held in March last year and advanced to the round of 16 for the first time in 15 years since 2007.
If they beat Belgium this time, Korea will advance to the Davis Cup round of 16 for the fifth time in its career, following 1981, 1987, 2007 and last year.
Kwon Soon-woo played in the 2nd and 4th singles matches against Austria last year in the preliminary round of the finals, winning both and taking responsibility for 2 wins alone, taking the lead in Korea’s advance to the round of 16.
The Korean national team was defeated by Canada, Serbia, and Spain in the group stage of the Finals, and failed to advance to the quarterfinals with three losses, but Kwon Soon-woo made a surprise by defeating Felice Ozealiasim, who was ranked 13th in the world at the time, in the match against Canada.
Kwon Soon-woo said, “As we advanced to the Davis Cup Finals last year, we gained confidence that we can do it too. It was fun to play in front of many fans in the finals last year.” If there is, Korea will win,” he said, reaffirming his determination to win. 슬롯사이트
In accordance with the Davis Cup regulations, Kwon Soon-woo will face Berris (115th), the world’s second-highest ranked Belgian in singles, in the first singles match, and David Gopin (41st), a Belgian ace, in the third singles match.
What draws attention is the confrontation with Gopin. Gopin is a player who rose to No. 7 in the world rankings in 2017, and reached the quarterfinals at the French Open in 2016, the Australian Open in 2017, and Wimbledon in 2019 and last year, his best results.
The two have never faced each other before.
Kwon Soon-woo explained, “I have never played with Gopin, but I have practiced and I know him well because I have seen a lot of matches. He has a similar play style to me.”
At the same time, he expressed his confidence, saying, “Gopin has more experience than me and has a higher world ranking, but I am in good condition. I expect it to be an interesting match.”
