By Jeon Han and Sohn JiAe

Hyeon Chung, a leading Korean men’s tennis star, has seen his dream come true: to compete against Switzerland's Roger Federer, said to be the “undisputed king of tennis,” at least once before retiring.

Chung secured a semifinal spot against the Swiss champion after a 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Tennys Sandgren of the U.S. in the quarterfinals at the Australia Open, in Melbourne on Jan. 24. Federer will face the 21-year-old Korean after defeating Czech player Tomas Berdych, 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-4.

In a press conference held before the semifinal matchup was confirmed, Chung said that, “I’m just trying to do my best. First, I have to really make a good recovery, because I have to play in the semis in a Grand Slam. I’m just trying to play the same as I did in the previous tournament.”

The Korean player has made headlines across major foreign media channels, too, when he routed two rivals, all 3-0. First was world No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Round of 16, and then was Tennys Sandgren in the Round of 8.

The media, focusing on the birth of the next generation of tennis stars, has given Chung a range of nicknames, such as “Giant Killer,” “Iceman” and “The Professor."

An article titled “Chung charges into final four” on the official Australian Open website on Jan. 24, started by saying that, “If Hyeon Chung still thinks he can take a wander down Seoul’s busy Myeongdong Street unrecognized, he’ll do well to reassess that after becoming the first Korean to reach a Grand Slam semifinal on Wednesday.”

hanjeon@korea.kr