KUALA LUMPUR – Emotions flowed for South Korea’s mixed doubles player Jeong Na-eun as she will play in her first appearance in a Super 1000 final.
She admitted to holding back tears of joy after she and her partner Kim Won-ho defeated Singapore’s Terry Hee-Jessica Tan 21-16, 21-16, in straight sets at the Malaysia Open held at Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil today.
“We are no longer junior players, and we will approach our opponents in the final tomorrow with professionalism.
“But this is our first Super 1000 final, so I have butterflies in my stomach. I wanted to cry after winning today, but I held back my tears,” said the 23-year-old Na-eun.
Her partner, Won-ho is confident the tournament’s seventh seed has the ability to win the Malaysia Open.
“We didn’t lose our focus and concentrated on our gameplay, that is why we were able to win today.
“But for the final tomorrow, we have to focus, communicate with each other more and play a good game,” said 24-year-old Won-ho.
They will play either the winner, Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin from China or Yuta Watanabe-Arisa Higashino from Japan, in the final. – January 13, 2024