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By Kim Jae-heun
  • Published May 19, 2015 5:13 pm KST
  • Updated May 19, 2015 5:13 pm KST

Chung Hyeon named on top 10 list of rising stars

Chung Hyeon

Korean tennis sensation Chung Hyeon was named on a list of “10 players to keep an eye on” in the men’s qualifying round of the Roland-Garros French Open.

“Rising star” Chung capped the “top 10” list made up of “future champions, solid contenders and feel-good factors” in a post on the tournament’s official website Tuesday.

“No. 69 in the world and yet to go through qualifying at a Grand Slam ― stranger things have happened, but not many,” the post reads. “When the entry list was drawn up for Roland-Garros after the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami, Chung was No. 121 in the world. Since then, he has gone on to win Challenger tournaments in Savannah and Busan, make the final of another in Seoul and got through a round in the main draw of the ATP 250 event in Houston.”

But it continued, “Does this make him the man to fear in qualifying? That remains to be seen: the 18-year-old South Korean has not played on European clay since his junior days two years ago. Maybe he will come back to red earth with a bump.” Chung enjoyed very little rest before his first qualifying match against American Jared Donaldson on Tuesday. He will need to secure three wins to qualify for entry into the main tournament.

Chung, who took the Busan Challenger title but lost to Go Soeda of Japan in the final of the Seoul Open Sunday, has also qualified for Wimbledon, the next Grand Slam tournament scheduled for June.

Chan, Plushenko target PyeongChang 2018

Canadian figure skater Patrick Chan, 24, and Russian figure skater Evgeni Plushenko, 32, may invigorate the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics in Gangwon Province, as the two Olympic medalists may participate in the event.

Chan won silver medals in both the men’s individual and team events at the Sochi 2014 Olympics, and he is a three-time world champion from 2011-2013. Chan said he will show his intentions in action rather than words as he prepares for the 2015-2016 season.

Plushenko, who has retired several times already and gave up in the middle of the Sochi Olympics, said he is targeting PyeongChang. The veteran skater is a four-time Olympic medalist and three-time world champion in 2001, 2003 and 2004.