SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Yonhap) — Kwon Soon-woo captured his second career ATP Tour title in Australia on Saturday, becoming the first South Korean with multiple victories on the top men’s tennis circuit.
Kwon, ranked 84th, defeated world No. 26 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) to win the Adelaide International 2 at Memorial Drive Tennis Centre in Adelaide, Australia.
Kwon, 25, won his maiden ATP title at the Astana Open in September 2021. He was the first South Korean winner since Lee Hyung-taik in 2003.
Lee retired with one career singles title, and Kwon moved ahead of him on the career leaderboard on Saturday.
Chung Hyeon, the 2018 Australian Open semifinalist, won the Next Generation ATP Finals in November 2017. But the exhibition event was only open to players 21 or younger and didn’t count as an official ATP victory for Chung.
Kwon was one of two “lucky losers” of this tournament. He had lost in the second round of the qualifying stage, but entered the main draw after two players withdrew because of injuries.
This was Kwon’s second tournament of 2023, after kicking off the season with a first-round loss at the Adelaide International 1 at the same venue.
This was an ATP 250 tournament, with the champion collecting 250 ranking points. It is in the lowest tier in ATP, below the four Grand Slam tournaments, ATP Finals, ATP Masters 1000 and ATP 500 events.
Kwon is expected to crack the top 70 in the world rankings next week. His career high is No. 52 from November 2021.
Source: Yonhap News Agency