Lee Duck-hee on Monday became the first deaf player to win an ATP match, making a statement with a straight-sets win over Henri Laaksonen in the Winston-Salem Open.
“People made fun of me for my disability. They told me I shouldn’t be playing,” the 21-year-old South Korean said after shrugging off a lengthy rain delay to post a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 victory.
“It was definitely difficult, but my friends and family helped me get through,” Lee said. “I wanted to show everyone that I could do this. My message for people who are hearing impaired is to not be discouraged. If you try hard, you can do anything.”
Photo: AP
Lee, ranked No. 212 in the world, turned pro at 15 and achieved his best ATP singles ranking of 130th in the world in 2017.
He admits that his disability can make life on the court frustrating: He cannot hear line calls or the umpire’s call of the score, and relies on gestures to sort out any confusion.
At Lee’s post-match news conference, his fiancee pitched in to help out a Korean translator.
It was the end of a long day for Lee, who was two points from victory when thunderstorms swept through the area.
When he and Switzerland’s Laaksonen returned some five hours later, Lee quickly polished off a win that he admitted he had not been expecting.
“I thought that I was just going to do my best and try to stay focused, but I came out a winner,” Lee said.
Lee next faces third-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, the world No. 40 from Poland, in the second round.
“I’m going to go to the match with the same attitude,” Lee said. “I’m going to do my best and see what happens.”
Andy Murray on Monday fell in the first round of the Winston-Salem Open, where the three-time Grand Slam champion was giving his surgically repaired hip just its second test in singles play.
Britain’s Murray, who in January feared that his hip trouble would end his career, accepted a wild card into this week’s tournament.
He showed glimpses of his once-dominant self, but was inconsistent in a 7-6 (10-8), 7-5 loss to 73rd-ranked Tennys Sandgren of the US in a match lasting 2 hours, 10 minutes.
“Some things were a bit better today I think,” Murray said. “Physically, [I’m] OK considering — no pain, no discomfort. Just a little bit more tired than usual.”
BRONX OPEN
Reuters
The Czech Republic’s 10th seed Karolina Muchova on Monday beat Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova 7-5, 6-2 to move into the second round of the Bronx Open, while fourth seed Zhang Shuai was knocked out in straight sets.
Muchova, who reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon last month, won an incredible 93 percent of her first serve points. She did not face a single break point in the match, wrapping up the contest in 69 minutes.
The 22-year-old Czech next faces US wildcard Kristie Ahn, who beat Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann earlier in the day.
Zhang, another Wimbledon quarter-finalist this year, was knocked out by Germany’s Andrea Petkovic, who broke the Chinese five times in a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Petkovic, ranked 55 places below her opponent, regularly attacked Zhang’s second serve with powerful returns. Even though Zhang won four games in a row in the second set, she was no match for her big-hitting opponent.
Another US wildcard, Coco Vandeweghe, who was sidelined with an ankle injury for 10 months until her return to the tour last month, was knocked out 6-3, 6-0 by Russia’s Anna Blinkova.
Fifth seed Katerina Siniakova advanced at the expense of Wang Yafan with a straightforward 6-3, 6-2 win.
Romania’s Mihaela Buzarnescu saw off the challenge of Germany’s Laura Siegemund, despite dropping the opening set with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory.
In women’s doubles, duo Margarita Gasparyan of Russia and Monica Niculescu of Romania defeated Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-Wei and Hsieh Yu-Chieh 6-1, 7-5.
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