"US Open Champion Crumbles in First Round" Cilic's Shocking Upset at Seoul Open... Kwon Sun-woo Also Withdraws Due to Knee Injury

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

Marin Cilic (38, Croatia), the 2014 US Open champion, was eliminated in the first round of the main draw at the 2026 Eugene Investment & Securities Seoul Open Challenger Tennis Tournament (ATP Challenger 125, hereinafter referred to as the Seoul Open).

Cilic, who holds the No. 1 seed at this tournament and is ranked 96th in the world, lost to Zhang Zhizhen (China, ranked 166th) with a set score of 1-2 (6-7(3), 6-2, 3-6) in the men's singles first round match held on the center court at Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center on the 26th.

Cilic is a star who has left a significant mark on the world tennis stage. He reached the pinnacle at the 2014 US Open, defeating "Tennis Emperor" Roger Federer (Switzerland) in the semifinals at the time. He also finished as runner-up at Wimbledon in 2017 and the Australian Open in 2018.

He has won a total of 21 singles titles on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour and reached a career-high world ranking of No. 3.

In particular, in 2024, he entered the Hangzhou Open ranked 777th in the world and won the title, setting an ATP Tour record for the lowest-ranked player to win a tournament. He also achieved his 600th career victory at the Dallas Open earlier this year.

Expectations from Korean fans were high. Cilic held a fan signing event on the 25th, the day before the tournament opened, and approximately 150 fans gathered at the venue. Cilic gifted Korean fans special memories with his bright smile and considerate fan service.

However, he left regrets in his first main draw match.

The match on this day unfolded as a fierce serve battle between two tall players. In the first set, both players held their own service games, leading to a tiebreak. Zhang Zhizhen took the lead by scoring the first three points and ultimately won the tiebreak 7-3.

Cilic did not back down easily. He successfully broke serve in the first game and the seventh game of the second set to win 6-2, tying the set score at 1-1.

The tight contest continued into the final third set. While both players held their service games, Zhang Zhizhen took the seventh game to lead 4-3. He then broke Cilic's serve to seize control of the match.

Zhang Zhizhen sealed the victory by finishing a match point in his own service game with a serve ace.

Cilic recorded 13 serve aces on this day, but Zhang Zhizhen hit an impressive 21, showcasing powerful serves.

Cilic appeared somewhat sluggish on this day. He had several opportunities to take control of the match with his serve and strokes, but his finishing touches in crucial moments were lacking.

Ultimately, Cilic, who became the first player to step onto the Olympic Park court following his mentor Goran Ivanisevic, who competed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, concluded his Seoul Open schedule in his first main draw match.

On the other hand, Zhang Zhizhen is a player representing Chinese tennis. He reached a world ranking of No. 31 in July 2024 and won a silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2024 Paris Olympics and a gold medal in men's singles at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.

He struggled with a shoulder injury afterward, falling outside the top 100 in world rankings, but has been climbing back up the rankings centered on Challenger tournaments this year.

Following his victory at the Brisbane Challenger in February last month, he is aiming for his second final appearance of the season at this tournament.

Zhang Zhizhen will face the winner of Sakamoto Rei (Japan, ranked 125th) and Kasidit Samrej (Thailand, ranked 368th) in the second round.

Meanwhile, in the qualifying rounds held on the same day, Jung Yun-seong (Anseong City Gymnasium, ranked 756th) was the only Korean player to successfully advance to the main draw.

Jung Yun-seong defeated Jung Yeon-su (ranked 1532nd), a first-year student at Myongji University who entered as a wildcard, with a set score of 2-1 (3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)) in the qualifying final.

With this, Jung Yun-seong will step onto the Seoul Open main draw stage for the first time in two years since he entered as a wildcard in 2024. Previously, he reached the semifinals of this tournament in 2023.

On this day, Jung Yun-seong conceded the first set to the clever match management of left-handed Jung Yeon-su. However, from the second set onward, he moved away from a purely offensive approach, increased his serve success rate, and employed deep-angled strokes to regain the flow of the game.

In the third set, he led 4-1 but allowed a comeback, ultimately securing victory in the tiebreak.

After the match, Jung Yun-seong stated, "I started without an easy path after losing the first set, but I tried not to lose focus until the end," and added, "I tried various game plans while heading into the tiebreak and responded according to the situation."

Jung Yun-seong will face qualifier Imai Shintaro (Japan, ranked 1005th) in the main draw first round on the 27th. Imai defeated Park Ui-sung (Daegu City Gymnasium, ranked 777th) in the qualifying final.

On the other hand, two promising Korean players who received main draw wildcards were eliminated in their debut matches.

Jo Min-hyuk (Namwon Geopun SC, Junior ranked 101st), winner of the Next Gen Invitational, lost to No. 2 seed Bu Yunchaokete (China, ranked 92nd) with a set score of 0-2 (1-6, 0-6).

Kim Jang-jun (University of Virginia, ranked 853rd), who became the first Korean player to experience an NCAA Division I team championship victory this year, also engaged in a tight tiebreak battle in the first set against Billy Harris (UK, ranked 252nd) but lost 0-2 (6-7(2), 2-6).

In addition, Korea's tennis flagship Kwon Sun-woo (Chungnam Sports Council, ranked 160th) also withdrew from the tournament due to injury.

Kwon Sun-woo was originally scheduled to compete in the singles main draw first round on the 27th, but he withdrew because his knee, injured at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, had not fully recovered.

In place of Kwon Sun-woo, Matsuda Goki (Japan, ranked 463rd) advanced to the main draw as a lucky loser and will face No. 4 seed Terence Atmane (France, ranked 90th).

As a result, the Korean players remaining in the singles main draw of this tournament are Jung Yun-seong and Hong Seong-chan (Dangjin City Gymnasium, ranked 1079th).

Hong Seong-chan will face Wu Yibing (China, ranked 107th), the men's singles silver medalist at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, in the main draw first round on the 27th.

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original