Duckhee Lee: South Korean becomes first deaf player to win ATP Tour match

(CNN) — As a young kid, people used to make fun of Duckhee Lee, telling him that he shouldnt be playing baseball.
On Monday the West proved the doubters wrong by getting the first deaf player to win a game in the main draw of the ATP Tour.
The 21-year-old, ranked 212 in the world, watched off Swiss world No. 120 Henri Laaksonen 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 in the Winston-Salem Open in North Carolina.
People made fun of me to my handicap. They told me I should not be enjoying with, Lee told me. It was definitely hard, but my friends and family helped me get through. I wanted to show everyone that I was able to do so.
My message for men and women that are hearing impaired is not to be deterred. Should you try hard, it is possible to do anything
Huge effort
As stated by the ATP Tour website Lee — recognized as deaf elderly two — cant hear the score being called which means he has to rely on signals from people or your umpire on his team or line calls.
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Taught to lipread as a child, the right-hander doesnt know sign language.
A championship volunteer translated questions in Korean into Lees fiancee, Soopin, that served as a conduit between Lee and reporters.
Three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray praised Lee for his or her achievement.
When I had been to perform with headphones on, its unbelievably tough to find out the speed of the ball, then the twist thats coming off the racquet. We utilize our ears a great deal to pick up things, the former world No.1 was quoted as stating on the ATP Tour site.
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It is obviously a enormous disadvantage, so to be in a position to perform what he is doing is a huge work.
Lee will next play Polands Hubert Hurkacs Tuesday in the next round and told colleagues:Im going to visit the match with precisely exactly the same attitude. Im planning to do my very best and see what happens.