Do Je-hae edits news stories as part of the AI team.
Future of Korean tennis
Chung Hyeon became the first Korean to reach the finals of the Wimbledon Junior Championships Friday. / Yonhap
By Do Je-hae
Two junior players grab media attention at Wimbledon
By Do Je-hae
A Korean tennis player has reached the finals of the junior championships at Wimbledon for the first time in the event’s history.
In doing so, Chung Hyeon brushed aside Australian world No.1 junior Nick Kyrgios 6-2 6-2 in a fourth round match Thursday and Germany’s Maximilian Marterer, ranked No. 30, in the semifinals (6-7, 6-1, 6-3) Friday.
Chung will face Italy's Italian sixth seed Gianluigi Quinzi in the finals Sunday.
"After I beat the top ranked player on the junior circuit, I felt a lot of pressure,” Chung told reporters after the fourth round match. Chung is ranked No. 41 in the junior ITF (International Tennis Federation) ranking. He also beat
His coach Yoon Yong-il, who is at Wimbledon with Chung, expressed high hopes for a possible win at the prestigious championships. No Korean has won a grand slam event in tennis.
“He is in great condition. If he keeps his form and plays well in the upcoming match, the championships could be his,” Yoon said.
Local experts have been calling Chung the “Ryu Hyun-jin of tennis,” particularly after he became the youngest player in Korean history to claim an ITF Pro Circuit men’s singles title at the Korea F6 Futures Tournament last month after defeating the number one seed Enrique Lopez-Perez of Spain.
The 17-year-old is 180 centimeters tall, but will likely grow taller in the years ahead. Chung’s strength is speedy footwork and powerful strokes. He is working to improve his serve and volleys.
Chung has been ranked as high as number seven on the ITF Junior World Rankings.
Born in 1996, Chung comes from a tennis family. Chung’s father Chung Seok-jin is a tennis coach and his older brother Hong, 20, represented the country at the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou.
Since 2009, he has spent every summer training at the legendary Nick Bollettier Tennis Academy. The Florida-based academy has produced numerous stars of the sport, including Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Maria Sharapova, Monica Seles, and Venus and Serena Williams, among others.
SBS ESPN will broadcast Chung’s final match at Wimbledon Sunday. The broadcaster initially did not plan on carrying junior matches. But Chung’s surprising streak of wins at the championships has altered its plans.
Chung is not the only Korean player to grab media attention at Wimbledon.
His team mate and doubles partner Lee Duck-hee will appear in a BBC documentary on Wimbledon that will be aired all over Europe in August.
“Lee will be the first Korean player to appear in a TV documentary about Wimbledon,” His agent S&B Company said in a press release.
The 15-year-old, who is deaf from birth, first appeared in international media when 8-time French Open Champion Rafael Nadal spread the word to his 4.6 million Twitter followers that Lee had earned his first ATP ranking point in April.
“An overcoming story of Duck Hee Lee teaches us that we must fight!” the 12-time Grand Slam champion wrote.
Lee will appear in the documentary alongside tennis luminaries Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and talk about his dedication to the sport despite a physical disability.
Lee and Chung teamed up for doubles at Wimbledon, but they lost in the first round.
The highest ranked Asian player in men’s tennis is World No. 11 Kei Nishikori, who has won 3 singles titles and reached the quarterfinals of the 2012 Australian Open.
The 2012 U.S. Open Champion Andy Murry, left, poses with teenage tennis player Lee Duck-hee during a training session at Wimbledon, Tuesday. / Yonhap