TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hsu Yu-hsiou (許育修) won his first Grand Slam match ever at the US Open on Tuesday (Aug. 29), becoming only the third men's player in Taiwanese history to win a round at a Grand Slam tournament.
In the first round of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York, Hsu defeated Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in a match that lasted two hours and 52 minutes, reported Liberty Times. The No. 237-ranked Hsu will now face Britain's 16th seed Cameron Norrie in the second round.
Carrying the momentum of securing three gold medals at the Chengdu 2021 Summer World University Games, which concluded earlier in August, Hsu advanced through three rounds in the pre-qualifying matches of the US Open, making him the fifth Taiwanese men's singles player to ever qualify for the tournament. Following his earlier venture into the Grand Slam circuit at this year's Australian Open, Hsu's strong performance continued as he kept up his hot streak alive at Flushing Meadows.
This marks Hsu's first Grand Slam match win and makes him only the third Taiwanese male player to win a Grand Slam round, following Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳) and Jimmy Wang (王宇佐), both of whom have won several matches in Grand Slam tournaments.
Hsu (ranked 237th) and Kokkinakis (ranked 78th) faced each other for the first time on Tuesday.
In the fourth game of the opening set, Hsu broke Kokkinakis' serve, taking an early lead and securing the set. In the following set, Hsu continued his momentum, fending off five break points in the sixth game and breaking Kokkinakis' serve again to clinch the set.
The 27-year-old Kokkinakis made a strong comeback in the third set, breaking Hsu's serve for the first time and seizing a set. Hsu regrouped in the fourth, and ended up winning the set, sealing his victory.
This year's overall player compensation at the US Open will total US$65 million (NT$2.09 billion), a record high in the history of the tournament. The first-round prize money for singles competitors is as high as US$81,500.
