The son of a South Korean potato farmer who had to play three qualifying matches just to get into the tournament is through to the final of the Sydney International, the major lead-up event to next week's Australian Open.
Lee Hyung-taik upset the more experienced and higher-ranked Wayne Ferreira 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to make it through to his second ATP final in eight years as a professional.
His opponent in the final is Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero, the world number four and French Open runner-up who had to fight his way back to beat Germany's Rainer Schuettler 3-6, 6-3 6-2, but Lee was happy just to be in the final.
"Did I expect this? Of course not," Lee told reporters through a translator. "I just wanted to win one match."
Lee, who was raised in Hoingsung, a small farming village in Kang Won Do province, only arrived in Sydney from Doha last Friday after a 16-hour flight.
He won his first qualifying match on Saturday then his second that afternoon. His third win, on Sunday, earned him a start in the field.
"This is the biggest achievement for me so far," Lee said.
The 27-year-old beat Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti in his first-round match then avenged his loss to world number 10 Andy Roddick in the 2001 Houston final, Lee's only other ATP final appearance, to reach the quarter-finals.
FREE RIDE
He got a free ride into the semi-finals after his opponent, last year's Australian Open finalist Marat Safin, pulled out and made it to the final with his straight sets win over South Africa's Ferreira.
His opponent Ferrero blew a 3-1 lead to drop the first set against Schuettler before fighting back to win in three and advance to his 15th career final.
The Spanish world number four even abandoned his traditional baseline game to approach the net and show off his volleying skills, which he said he had been practising to boost his chances of winning the Australian Open.
"I'm trying to be more aggressive on hard courts, going to the net more to close out the points," Ferrero said.
In the women's draw, second-seed Kim Clijsters thrashed her Belgian team mate Justin Henin-Hardenne 6-2, 6-3 to reach her first Sydney final.
The world number four, who has been training in Adelaide with her Australian boyfriend Lleyton Hewitt, was too strong and quick for her good friend as she sealed victory in straight sets.
She plays Lindsay Davenport in the final. The American beat Tatiana Panova 6-3, 7-5 to reach her eighth Sydney final after their match was interrupted for more than an hour by a passing thunderstorm.
Davenport raced through the first set and was level at 4-4 in the second when the skies opened up. Panova held her first service game after the re-start to lead 5-4 but the American won the next three on the trot to seal victory.
The American has not won a title since 2001 after injuries forced her to miss most of last season and said she was thrilled just to make the final at Sydney.
"I've definitely come a long way and it's exciting to see the progress I've made," she said.
