In the wake of his Australian Open breakthrough, Hyeon Chung is confident that he will one day be a contender for the biggest titles in the sport.
The 21-year-old recently became the first South Korean in history to reach the semifinals of a grand slam at the Australian Open, scoring wins over Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic. His fairytale run came to an abrupt end. Facing Roger Federer in the last four, Chung retired in the second set due to blisters on his foot.
“I’ve seldom played so many games unremittingly and my feet reached their limits,” he told AFP news.
“My doctor says the blistered feet are curing well due to my young age and I will be able to start training next week.”
Despite the heartbreaking end, the 21-year-old is drawing positives from his performance. He now lies at a career high of 29th in the ATP rankings with fellow players tipping him to be a top 10 player in the future. The most notable of those being Federer, who describes him as ‘already a great player.’
Chung is eager to prove that he is not a one-hit wonder with his run in Melbourne. His next opportunity will be at the French Open, which will get underway during the last week of May. Last year he reached the third round at Roland Garros before falling to Kei Nishikori in five sets.
“I’ve not set any specific target (for the French Open) but I will be able to win a Grand Slam tournament some day in the future,” he stated.
“My performance on clay courts was good last year,” Chung later added.
Prior to his clay offensive, there will be a series of hard court tournaments that he will have to participate in. Including two key Masters events in Indian Wells and Miami.
As well as a rise in the rankings, Chung is also experiencing a rapid increase in his popularity. During January officials in his home country credit him for a rise in the sale of tennis products. Yohap news reported a 55.3% jump in the sale of tennis shoes during the week starting January 22nd.
His popularity has also surged on social media. According to analytical website Social Blade, since January 21st Chang has received an additional 120,000 followers on Instagram. On top of that, he also has over 16,000 Facebook likes and 20,000 Twitter followers.
“The number will soon reach a million, I hope,” he joked about the rise.
Chung is currently one of two players in the top 30 that are aged 21 or under. The other is world No.5 Alexander Zverev.
