Chung Hyeon revisits epic game

Chung Hyeon at a news conference at Banyan Tree Hotel in Seoul, Friday / Yonhap

He says he’s not comparable to Park Se-ri

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Tennis star Chung Hyeon said Friday his match against the 12-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia was his most memorable one at the 2018 Australian Open.

“It was a Grand Slam, so every match counted,” he said during a news conference at the Banyan Tree Hotel in Seoul. “But the match against Djokovic was the most memorable one because he and I met again at the same court two years after we played each other before.” Chung lost 0-3 back then.

But he defeated Djokovic 3-0 at the 2018 Australian Open to reach the quarterfinals. He later advanced to the semifinals where he had to retire against the second-seeded Roger Federer due to blisters on his left foot.

Chung became the first Korean to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and his stunning success excited the entire nation.

After beating Djokovic in the round of 16, Chung scribbled “Did you see it?” on the camera lens.

Later he said it was a message to his former coach Kim Il-soon who was in charge of the Samsung Tennis Team which was disbanded in 2015. Chung said he wanted to cheer Kim up because he knew she had gone through one of the hardest moments in her life when Samsung decided to dissolve the team which was established in 1992.

Chung said he met Kim, Thursday, and chatted a lot over dinner. “We had a good time. We took many photos, too,” he said.

He received a hero’s welcome at Incheon International Airport, Sunday, when he returned to Korea after wrapping up the demanding two-week tournament. Hundreds of fans gathered there and cheered for him.

Chung said he was surprised at the crowd as he didn’t expect such a huge number of people would turn out to hail him.

His favorite nickname is “professor.” Several media outlets called him as such because of his iconic white-rimmed glasses.

Chung said he initially earned the nickname years ago when he attended IMG Academy in Florida. “I guess I got the nickname because I was young but calm when playing tennis,” he said.

His stunning success at the Australia Open triggered a tennis boom in Korea. Some speculated there would be kids who are inspired to play tennis to emulate Chung. Asked what advice he would give to the “Melbourne kids,” Chung said they should have their own ideas regarding their future, and not be swayed or affected by adults. He also encouraged them to stay healthy, and eat and sleep well.

Chung was compared to superstar athletes such as golfer Park Se-ri, the first Korean to win an LPGA championship in 1998. He was humbled and said his accomplishment so far is not something that can be comparable to what Park achieved.

Chung said his reaching the Grand Slam semifinal came suddenly and he would keep working hard to improve his performance. He said he has yet to set a goal for the French Open to be held in May and June.