Lee Hyung-taik
 | |
| Country (sports) |  South Korea |
|---|---|
| Residence | Seoul, South Korea |
| Born | 3 January 1976 Hoengseong, South Korea |
| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
| Turned pro | 1995 |
| Retired | Nov 2009; comeback in 2015 |
| Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $2,355,686 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 161–164 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 36 (6 August 2007) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (2003, 2008) |
| French Open | 3R (2004, 2005) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (2007) |
| US Open | 4R (2000, 2007) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Olympic Games | 2R (2004) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 40–72 |
| Career titles | 1 |
| Highest ranking | No. 95 (16 January 2006) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이형택 |
| Hanja | 李亨澤 |
| Revised Romanization | I Hyeong-taek |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Hyŏngt'aek |
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Medal record | |
Lee Hyung-taik (Korean: 이형택, born 3 January 1976) is a former professional tennis player from South Korea. He won one singles title and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 36, in August 2007.
Personal life[]
Lee was born in a potato-farming village in Hoengseong County, South Korea. He began playing tennis at age nine with a school teacher. After retirement, he is running his own academy in Gangwon Province in the tennis center at Song-ahm Sports Town in Chuncheon named “Lee Hyung Taik Tennis Academy”, which opened on 12 September 2009.[1]
Tennis career[]
2000[]
With the help of Coach Hee june Choi, Lee made a splash at the US Open tournament, reaching the fourth round before losing to Pete Sampras. En route to his fourth-round appearance against Sampras, Lee defeated Jeff Tarango, 13th seed Franco Squillari, and future Australian Open runner-up Rainer Schüttler.
2003[]
In 2003, Lee became the first Korean to win ATP Tour singles and doubles titles by winning the singles tournament at the Sydney International as a qualifier (beating Juan Carlos Ferrero in the final) and the doubles tournament at the Siebel Open in San Jose, California (partnering with Belarusian Vladimir Voltchkov).
At Wimbledon, he was defeated in the first round by eventual champion Roger Federer in straight sets.
2006[]
In the second round at Wimbledon, Lee was defeated by former champion and two-time semifinalist Lleyton Hewitt in five sets, including three tie-breakers. Lee had set points in the third set tie-breaker, but went on to lose the set after an incorrect line call. As Lee went on to win the fourth set the call probably prevented him winning the match against the eventual quarterfinalist.
2007[]
Lee matched his best Grand Slam performance by making the fourth round of the US Open tournament. In the first round, he was forced to five sets before defeating Dominik Hrbatý. Lee was pit against Guillermo Cañas, who was the fourteenth seed in the tournament, in the second round. He defeated Cañas in three sets, setting up a third round showdown against nineteenth seed Andy Murray. Lee got out to a quick two set advantage against Murray, eventually winning in four sets. In the fourth round, Lee played fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko, who defeated the Korean in three sets.
His fourth round showing at the US Open capped a very successful hardcourt series. During the US Open Series, Lee reached the semifinals at the Countrywide Classic in Los Angeles, the quarterfinals at the Indianapolis Tennis Championships and at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
Lee set personal bests in a handful of categories, including match wins and money earned. He won a career-high 25 matches and earned $386,230. Overall, Lee compiled records of 16-15 on hard, 5-5 on clay, 3-3 on grass and 1-0 on carpet. In August, he achieved his career best ranking in singles as world No. 36.
2008[]
In the 2008 season, Lee had a disappointing losing streak and eventually fell out of the top 100. He did, however, match his best Masters Series result by making the fourth round of Indian Wells, beating Michaël Llodra, Jarkko Nieminen and No. 5 seed David Ferrer along the way.
2009[]
In 2009, Lee played one final time for Korea, in the Davis Cup Play-off between Korea and China. He announced his retirement from pro tennis after the Davis Cup match, with Korea triumphing 3-2.
Doubles[]
Lee sometimes played doubles alongside Korean-American player Kevin Kim. The pair reached the third round of the 2005 French Open.
Playing style[]
Lee is right-handed and uses a single-handed backhand. He considers his backhand as his best shot. His favorite surface is hardcourt. He was coached by countryman and former ATP professional Yoon Yong-il (since March 2006).
Career finals[]
Singles: 2 (1–1)[]
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour 500 series (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour 250 series (1–1) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runner-up | 1. | 6 May 2001 | Houston, United States | Clay |  Andy Roddick
|
5–7, 3–6 |
| Winner | 1. | 6 January 2003 | Sydney, Australia | Hard |  Juan Carlos Ferrero
|
4–6, 7–6(8–6), 7–6(7–4) |
Doubles: 1 (1–0)[]
| Legend |
|---|
| Grand Slam (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour 500 series (0–0) |
| ATP World Tour 250 series (1–0) |
| Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | 10 February 2003 | San Jose, United States | Hard (i) |  Vladimir Voltchkov
|
Paul Goldstein Robert Kendrick
|
7–5, 4–6, 6–3 |
Television appearances[]
- 2020: King of Mask Singer (MBC), contestant as "Oriole" (episode 273)[2]
See also[]
- List of Korea-related topics
- List of Koreans
References[]
- ^ 이형택 테니스 아카데미 지난 12일 문 열어 [Lee Hyung Taik Tennis Academy opened on 12] (in Korean). icross 뉴스. 2009-09-14. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ^ Lee Ah-young (September 20, 2020). "'복면가왕' 비쥬·이형택·최란·이혜성, 반가운 얼굴X반전 노래실력 (종합)". News1 (in Korean). Retrieved September 20, 2020.
External links[]
- (in Korean) Lee Hyung Taik Tennis Academy
- Lee Hyung-taik at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Lee Hyung-taik at the International Tennis Federation
- Lee Hyung-taik at the Davis Cup
- Lee Recent Match Results
- Lee World Ranking History
- Korean Men Recent Match Results
- ATP interview[permanent dead link]
| show Authority control  |
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- 1976 births
- Living people
- Olympic tennis players of South Korea
- South Korean male tennis players
- Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Konkuk University alumni
- Asian Games medalists in tennis
- Tennis players at the 1998 Asian Games
- Tennis players at the 2002 Asian Games
- Tennis players at the 2006 Asian Games
- Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea
- Asian Games silver medalists for South Korea
- Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games
- Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games
- Medalists at the 2006 Asian Games
- Universiade medalists in tennis
- Universiade gold medalists for South Korea
- Universiade silver medalists for South Korea
- Medalists at the 1995 Summer Universiade
- Medalists at the 1997 Summer Universiade
- Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade