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.
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]
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.
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.
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.
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 with the help of his coach, Hee June Choi.
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.
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.
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).
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
^Kim Hye-jeong (December 23, 2021). "이형택×남현희×박찬민, 채널A 新 예능 '피는 못 속여' 합류" [Hyung-Taek Lee × Hyun-Hee Nam × Chan-Min Park to join Channel A's new entertainment show ‘Cheat You Can’t Bleed’] (in Korean). Sports Kyunghyang. Retrieved December 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Kim Won-gyeom (December 18, 2022). "이형택, 테니스 잘하면 배드민턴도 잘할까…셔틀콕 전국대회 우승 도전" [Lee Hyung-taek, if you're good at tennis, will you be good at badminton? Challenge to win the Shuttlecock National Competition]. Sports TV News (in Korean). Retrieved December 18, 2022 – via Naver.
^Kim, Chae-yeon (March 22, 2023). "내일은 위닝샷' 이형택, 국내 최초 테니스 예능에 두근.."많이 와야 하는데 아~" [‘Tomorrow is a Winning Shot’ Lee Hyeong-taek, Korea's first tennis entertainment, excited.."I have to come a lot, but ah~] (in Korean). OSEN. Retrieved March 22, 2023 – via Naver.
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