Kwon Soon-woo reaches 3rd round at French Open

▲ In this AFP photo, Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea hits a shot against Andres Seppi of Italy during the second round men's singles match at the French Open in Paris on June 3, 2021. (Yonhap)

tennis-S Korean player

Kwon Soon-woo reaches 3rd round at French Open

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- Aching legs and all, South Korean player Kwon Soon-woo advanced to the third round in the men's singles at the French Open on Thursday.

Kwon, world No. 91, took down the 98th-ranked Andres Seppi in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 7-5, at Roland-Garros in Paris.

Kwon has reached the third round in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career. He will next face world No. 9 Matteo Berrettini.

Kwon is the first South Korean player to get to the third round at a Grand Slam event since Chung Hyeon made it to the third round at the 2019 U.S. Open.

No South Korean player, male or female, has gone beyond the third round at the French Open. Chung in 2017 and the retired Lee Hyung-taik in 2004 and 2005 were both knocked out of the third round in Paris.

Kwon had both legs taped for the match, and looked the part of an injured player at times in the match.

Knotted at 4-4 in the first set, Kwon broke Seppi en route to a 6-4 set win. The next two sets were similar seesaw affairs, with the players finding themselves all locked up at 5-5. Each time, Kwon managed to win two straight games to close out the Italian.

Seppi had 17 aces to Kwon's six, but he also committed more unforced errors than Kwon, 45-29.

Kwon had yet to face Berrettini, who reached the semifinals at the 2019 U.S. Open but has not yet gone past the third round at the French Open.

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