By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Lee Hyung-taik was listed No.38 on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)'s world rankings list, the highest spot ever taken by a South Korean.
The 31-year-old moved up four spots from his previous ranking, helped by a strong showing at the ATP Tour Countrywide Classic tournament held in Los Angeles last week when he beat world No. 22 Marat Safin and advanced to the semifinals.
Lee is the oldest player among the top 40 players, seven-months senior to Spain's Carlos Moya (No. 20) and a year older than Argentina's Guillermo Canas (No. 15).
Lee became the first Korean to break into the top 40 in ATP rankings in October last year. He is now likely to earn a handsome paycheck from his sponsor, Samsung Securities, who gave him 80 million won ($87,000) in bonuses when he broke into the top 40 list.
For female players, Lee Duk-hee achieved the highest spot in the world rankings when she reached No. 47 in 1983. Cho Yun-jung, who reached No.45 in 2003, was the highest recent achievement for Korean women.