By Jeon Han and Yoon Sojung
Photos = Yonhap News

“It seems like I’ve done something really great,” said Chung Hyeon.

Chung was speaking upon arrival at Incheon International Airport after making it all the way to the semifinals in the Australian Open, one of the major world tennis tournaments.

On Jan. 26, Chung faced off against Roger Federer, the “tennis king,” from Switzerland, in the men’s single semifinal match in Melbourne.

However, he had to give up the match, which he had called his “dream match“ against Federer, due to a foot injury.

Leaving his feelings for an unfinished game behind, Chung put on a bright smile when he saw the fans and reporters who flocked to the airport to welcome him home.

Saying that he will need to see a doctor for the injury, and undergo a physical checkup next week, Chung said he “feels like he would now climb to a higher spot.”

“I will move forward, attaining each of my goals from now on,” he said, unveiling his plan to head to the top of the tennis world, step-by-step and without hesitation.



Chung took part in this year’s Australian Open ranked in 58th place in the world. At the start of the tournament, he didn't garner much attention.

However, he defeated Alexander Zverev from Germany, ranked fourth in the world, with a set score of 3-2. He then defeated Novak Djokovic from Serbia, followed by his quarter-final match where Chung claimed victory by clearing all three sets against Tennys Sandgren from the U.S. All these results made him into this year's “star player” at the tournament, shining under the media spotlight from around the globe and going beyond just Korea.

Roger Federer, who won the match by default, said in his court interview afterward that he started to feel that Chung was getting a bit slower in the second set.

“I’ve played with blisters in the past and it hurts a lot. Sometimes it’s too much. I could tell something was wrong before he took the injury time out,” said Federer, expressing his support for Chung.

“Chung has great composure and I think we’re going to see a lot more from him. Top 10, for sure. I don’t want to put too much pressure on him,” Federer added.

Expressing his bittersweet feelings for that match by saying “I shouldn’t be thinking this way,” on Jan. 29 Federer won the final match against Marin Cilic from Croatia with a set score of 3-2, securing his 20th Grand Slam victory.

Finally, Chung ended the tournament ranked 29th in the world, as announced on Jan. 29, up 29 spots from before the tournament.

hanjeon@korea.kr