Chung Hyeon rewrites Korea's tennis history by crushing Novak Djokovic 3:0

Chung Hyeon celebrates his win against Novak Djokovic during the round of 16 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Monday. / Reuters-Yonhap

Chung stuns Djokovic to reach Aussie Open quarters

By Baek Byung-yeul

Korean tennis player Chung Hyeon produced a huge shock by defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the round of 16 at the Australian Open, Monday.

At the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, the world No. 58 Chung defeated No. 14 Djokovic, 3-0 (7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) in the men’s singles.

With the win, Chung, 21, has become the first Korean player to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals. He is also the first Korean to reach the quarters at any Grand Slam tournament. Previously, Lee Hyung-taik’s 2000 and 2007 runs at the U.S. Open men’s singles, and Lee Duk-hee’s 1981 run at the U.S. Open in 1981 in the women’s singles, were the highest watermarks for Korean tennis.

Calling Djokovic his “idol,” Chung said he felt honored to play against the Serbian tennis star.

“I didn’t know how I’d win this tonight. I was just honored to play against Novak, and happy to see him back on the tour. I try to copy Novak in the way I play because he is my idol,” Chung said after the match.

Chung will face Tennys Sandgren of the United States, Wednesday. Earlier the same day, the world No. 97 advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating world No. 5 Dominic Thiem of Austria 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-9) 6-3.

The chances are high for Chung to go beyond the quarterfinals as the American has never gone further than the first round of a Grand Slam event.

Chung’s match was the second meeting with Djokovic after losing two years ago in the same tournament 3-0 in 2016.

After that game, Chung said he had learned a lot from one of the world’s most prominent tennis stars saying he “needs to adapt mentally and physically.”

Two years later, Chung looked much more improved against his idol as the bespectacled Korean pushed his opponent hard to gain the win.

However, Djokovic was clearly in pain at times, having treatment to his right elbow after the first set. The Serbian made his return after missing the second half of the 2017 season due to an elbow injury.

Chung cruised to a 4-0 lead in the first set but Djokovic fought back to make it 6-6. In the tiebreak, Chung took the first set with a backhand that forced an error from his opponent.

A similar story was repeated in the second set. Djokovic got off to a bad start, losing the first three games; but then fought back to level the score at 5-5. However, Chung secures the second set by holding his serve and making breaks against Djkovic.

The two also had a tight game in the third set, marching into the tiebreak. Chung broke the 3-3 tie taking advantage of Djokovic’s unforced errors and taking it with a forehand winner. Djokovic had many chances, but piled up 57 unforced errors against 36 winners.