Bangkok Post

Chung breaks Zverev’s will, vaunted game

21-year-old first Korean man to reach round of 16

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>> MELBOURNE: Chung Hyeon became the first South Korean man ever to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open with a five-set upset win over fourth seed Alexander Zverev yesterday.

The 58th-ranked Chung beat a top-five ranked opponent for the first time with his 5-7, 7-6 (7/3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory in 3.22 hours on Rod Laver Arena.

He will face six-time champion Novak Djokovic i n t omorrow’s fourth round.

Chung’s feat also makes him only the third South Korean player — man or woman — to reach the round of 16 at a Grand Slam.

“It was really tough, he is a really good player and we know how to play each other,” said the glasseswea­ring 21-year-old, who trained in the heat of Thailand before coming to Melbourne.

“I played Novak two or three years ago, so if he wins tonight I just want to enjoy things on the court.”

It was another disappoint­ing exit from a Grand Slam for the highlyrank­ed Zverev, whose game fell apart in the final set and was issued with a warning for smashing his racquet in frustratio­n after a service break.

While he won five titles and was one of just four players to beat Roger Federer last year, he has yet to get beyond the fourth round at a Grand Slam.

To rub salt in the wounds, it was a Zverev family double for Chung who eliminated older brother Mischa in the first round of the tournament.

Zverev got off to a quick start to hold three set points with a backhand cross court and took the opening set in 44 minutes when Chung netted a forehand.

But Chung, who defeated Russian Andrey Rublev to claim his first title at the Next Gen ATP finals in Milan last year, levelled the set scores with a tie-breaker win after holding three set points when the German netted a forehand. Zverev hit the front with a break in the third game on the way to taking the third set but Chung would not go away.

The South Korean took the match into a fifth set with a booming ace and Zverev handed over a break in the opening game of the deciding set with a double fault on triple break point.

Zverev was given a racquet abuse warning by the chair umpire after slamming his racquet into the court in frustratio­n and suffering a second service break to trail 3-0 as his game fell away.

It continued Zverev’s frustratio­ns at failing to go beyond the fourth round in 11 Grand Slams.

He has been touted as the leader of the tennis new guard but he has not beaten a top-50 player in a best-offive sets match. “I have some figuring out to do, what happens to me in deciding moments in Grand Slams,” he said. “It happened at Wimbledon. It happened in New York. It happened here. I’m still young, so I got time. I definitely have some figuring out to do formyself.”

 ??  ?? Chung Hyeon celebrates his win over Alexander Zverev in the third round of the Australian Open yesterday.
Chung Hyeon celebrates his win over Alexander Zverev in the third round of the Australian Open yesterday.

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