At the 2018 Australian Open, when the then 21-year-old Hyeon Chung reached the last four, he became the youngest Grand Slam semifinalist since Marin Cilic in 2010, also at Melbourne. That Chung had beaten both Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic en route made the world sit up and take notice.
The South Korean couldn’t build on the result, especially in the second half of the season, ravaged as he was by a string of injuries. But as he steps into 2019 at the Tata Open Maharashtra, he was quietly confident.
“I had a really good start in Melbourne and I have so many good memories,” he said on Tuesday. “But it has been up and down after that. There were blisters on my feet. I have got special insoles made for my shoes now and it has worked. I had a good pre-season and hoping to play better than last year.”
Chung, along with US Open women’s singles champion Naomi Osaka, is part of a rising generation of Asian players who have followed in the footsteps of Li Na and Kei Nishikori.
His rise can only add to the popularity of the game in the region Chung felt.
“Tennis is not a big sport in South Korea. But after I reached the semis it became more popular,” he said. “So I think it is coming up. There are lot of young Asian players from Korea as well as China. They can be very good.”
Chung’s promise and future successes can have a ripple effect on the men’s tour too which has been desperately looking for a breakthrough champion.
The likes of Zverev, Russian Karen Kachanov and Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas have in the past year fuelled hopes of an imminent change of guard. The 2017 Next Generation ATP Finals winner wanted to be part of that revolution.
“I hope I can be [part of the next generation]. They [Djokovic, Roger Federer etc.] are all great players. I am just trying to learn more from them and keep fighting.”
