'Ostapenko's Vanquisher' Baek Da-yeon Does It Again After Three Years... Defeats China's Yuan Yue to Reach 'Runner-Up' Stage: "Prepared Thoroughly"

*This content was translated by AI.

Baek Da-yeon (NH NongHyup Bank, world ranking 272) has done it again. This time, she overcame Yuan Yue of China (world ranking 134), who was the runner-up at the 2023 Korea Open.

On the 21st, Baek Da-yeon defeated Yuan Yue in the first round of the main draw singles at the 2026 WTA Tour Korea Open held at the Center Court of the Olympic Park Tennis Stadium in Seoul Songpa-gu, with a set score of 2-1 (6-3, 4-6, 6-1).

This marks Baek Da-yeon's second career victory in the main draw of the Korea Open. Having drawn attention by defeating Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia (then world No. 13) in the first round of the 2023 tournament, Baek has reached the second round again after three years.

This opponent was no pushover. Yuan Yue had reached the final of this tournament in 2023 and competed for the title against Jessica Pegula of the United States. Although Yuan held a higher world ranking than Baek, Baek secured the victory with solid defense and a stable serve.

Thorough preparation backed her up.

After the match, Baek Da-yeon stated through the Korea Tennis Association: "Yuan Yue is the runner-up from the 2023 tournament here, so she has good memories of this venue," but added, "She has great skill and is tall, so I prepared thoroughly and approached the match accordingly. I watched video footage the day before the match and conducted my own analysis."

She continued, "I approached the match with the mindset of focusing on what I do well rather than what I cannot do," explaining, "I decided not to attack recklessly at first but to play long rallies."

She also carefully selected moments to attack. Baek said, "I waited until the ball came to my preferred forehand contact point," and added, "Especially when the ball was short, I moved forward to the net and played aggressively."

Her ability to stay focused during critical moments stood out during the match.

In the first set, Baek lost her own service game early, falling behind 1-3 in games. However, she then won five consecutive games to turn the momentum around, taking the first set 6-3 and seizing the initiative.

In the second set, she struggled against Yuan Yue's counterattack. After falling significantly behind early, she mounted a comeback but ultimately lost the set 4-6. However, her persistent effort throughout the set provided the momentum needed for the final set.

Baek reflected: "After winning the first set, I felt like attacking more when entering the second set, which led to more forehand errors." She added, "At one point, we were down 0-5, but I regrouped and fought back to 4-5, which became the driving force for my victory in the third set. That's when I regained my confidence."

Having regained her confidence, Baek demonstrated renewed focus in the final set. Even as the match duration exceeded two hours, she pressured Yuan Yue with tenacious defense. Meanwhile, Yuan Yue committed more forehand errors. Baek closed out the third set 6-1 to secure the victory.

Her statistics also revealed stability. Baek recorded a first-serve success rate of 74% and committed no double faults. She also demonstrated her ability to break points, saving eight out of the 12th break points conceded by her opponent.

Baek will now face Maya Joint of Australia (world ranking 99), who reached the semifinals in last year's tournament, in the second round. This will be the first tour-level meeting between the two players.

Baek plans to analyze her next opponent methodically as well.

She said, "I haven't studied my second-round opponent yet. I am the type who analyzes one match at a time," adding, "Now I will go in and watch video footage to analyze what Joint does well."

She further stated, "My goal is to hold firm point by point and play my own game. I will approach this as a learner."

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*This content was translated by AI.