The challenge is over for Park So Hyun (ranked 451st in the world, sponsored by Seongnam City Hall, CJ CheilJedang). Park lost in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Nonghyup Bank International Women’s Tennis Tour (Nonghyup Challenger), failing to advance to the semifinals.
Park suffered a 6-3 4-6 2-6 upset loss to Korean-American Hannah Chang (USA, ranked 349th in the world) in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Nonghyup Challenger at Nonghyup University All-Won Tennis Park in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do, on Saturday. The match started at 11 a.m. and ended at 2:11 p.m. in a hard-fought battle.
Park took the first set. Park showed precise control from her forehand to her volleys to her drop shots to take advantage of Jang. Park’s continuous attacks to the corners of the court were effective.
At the beginning of the second set, Park’s momentum 메이저놀이터continued. However, the mood of the match slowly changed. At 2-0 in the second set, Park led 30-0 on Jang Hannah’s service game. However, she missed her chance to break. After five deuces, she served out the game to Jang, and the momentum shifted from there.
Park took a 4-2 lead, but conceded back-to-back breaks on her own service game to lose the second set 4-6. The tide of the match was completely in Jang’s favor.
In the third set, Jang dominated the atmosphere. Park became impatient and made a series of unforced errors. The match ended in Jang’s favor.
Park’s father, Park Chang-hee, who watched the match, said, “I should have been more aggressive in the second set at 2-0, and I played a little loose at that time.” Park left the court saying, “I think I need to improve my serve and physical strength, but I think I can grow into a better player only by being broken.”
With Park So-hyun’s elimination, the Korean players’ campaign at the Nonghyup Challenger 2023 is over.
In the singles quarterfinals, the tournament’s No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, Kyoka Okamura (Japan, World No. 270) and Lisette Cabrera (Australia, World No. 239), both lost. Two Chinese players, Liu Fangzhou (ranked 714th in the world) and Guo Hanyu (ranked 667th in the world), made it to the semifinals after qualifying.
The quarterfinals of the ITF Nonghyup Challenger 2023 will pit Liu Fangzhou against Zhang Hanna and Guo Hanyu against Mananchaya Sawangkaew (Thailand, World No. 400) for a spot in the final.