Duckhee Lee became the first player with hearing impairment to win an ATP main draw match, waiting out a rain delay to beat Henri Laaksonen in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The 21-year-old from South Korea was two points from victory when thunderstorms swept through the area. When he and Switzerland’s Laaksonen returned some five hours later, Lee quickly polished off a 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 victory on Monday.
“I never expected to get through this one,” said Lee, who had won the final three points of the first-set tiebreaker.
“I thought that I was just going to do my best and try to stay focused, but I came out a winner.”
Lee, ranked 212nd in the world, will play third-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, the world number 40 from Poland, in the second round.
“I’m going to go to the match with the same attitude. I will do my best and see what happens,” he added.
Lee turned pro at 15 and achieved his best ATP singles ranking of 130 in 2017.
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