S. Korean Kwon Soon-woo eliminated in 1st round of French Open

All News 07:39 May 25, 2022

By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Kwon Soon-woo has failed to get past the opening round of the French Open, a year after advancing to the third round of the season's second Grand Slam tournament.

World No. 7 Andrey Rublev defeated the 71st-ranked South Korean in four sets, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, in the first round of the French Open at Roland-Garros in Paris on Tuesday (local time).

In this EPA photo, Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea hits a shot against Andrey Rublev of Russia during their men's singles first-round match of the French Open at Roland-Garros in Paris on May 24, 2022. (Yonhap)

At last year's French Open, Kwon had reached the third round, the deepest he had ever gone at one of the four major tennis tournaments.

He took the first set over Rublev in a tiebreak, rallying from a 5-4 deficit with three straight points.

However, tied at 3-3 in the second set, Rublev broke Kwon for the first time in the match and went on to claim the set 6-3.

In the third set, the two players were knotted up at 2-2 before Rublev won four consecutive games for a 6-2 set win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

In this EPA photo, Kwon Soon-woo of South Korea prepares for a serve against Andrey Rublev of Russia during their men's singles first-round match of the French Open at Roland-Garros in Paris on May 24, 2022. (Yonhap)

Kwon battled Rublev to a 4-4 tie in the fourth set. Rublev held his serve to go up 5-4 and then broke Kwon in the next game to close out the match in just under three hours.

Rublev enjoyed a 15-3 edge in aces. Kwon committed 40 unforced errors, compared with 28 by his Russian opponent.

Kwon is now 0-3 all time against the fellow 24-year-old.