By Jonathan Sanfilippo
Staff Reporter
This could be a busy week for Lee Hyung-taik.
Depending on how many matches he wins, Lee could end up playing plenty of tennis at the Australian Open, where he is participating in both the men's singles and doubles competitions.
Lee, the only South Korean men's player entered in the prestigious Grand Slam event, won his opening singles match against Chris Guccione of Australia 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-4 Tuesday at Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.
After neither player gained much of an early advantage, Lee won four consecutive points during a tiebreaker to capture the first set. He then built on that momentum by taking the next two sets and emerged from the match with a victory.
With the win, Lee, who is 47th in the Association of Tennis Proffessionals (ATP) men's singles rankings, advanced to the second round of the tournament, where he'll face seventh-ranked Fernando Gonzalez of Chile on Thursday.
It's second time Lee, a 32-year-old resident of Seoul, has advanced to the second round in singles in six Australian Open appearances. His other second-round singles match at the tournament ended with a loss in 2003.
In addition to playing singles, Lee joined his doubles partner, Florent Serra of France, to compete in a first-round match Wednesday night against the Australian duo of Nathan Healey and Robert Smeets.
A win in that match would enable Lee to qualify for the second round in doubles play at the Australian Open for the second time in his career. He lost a second-round doubles match at the tournament in 2005.
This year's Australian Open is the latest chapter in a lengthy career for Lee. Since becoming a professional in 1995, he has established himself as one of the most successful players South Korea has even produced, competing in several high-level events and compiling $2,049,938 (1.9 billion won) in career prize money. He can add to his legacy ― and continue to stay busy ― this week if he keeps winning.