Chung Upsets Zverev To Reach Last 16
Hyeon Chung became the first South Korean man of all-time to reach the Australian Open fourth round after coming from behind to beat World No. 4 Alexander Zverev 5-7, 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-3, 6-0 on Saturday.
"I'm just so happy to make the fourth round in [a Grand] Slam with so many good players," Chung said. "I don't want to stop here. [I want to] keep going."
Chung, who now owns a 2-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Zverev, recorded his first Top 5 win in the three-hour, 22-minute contest with the help of 19 winners to his opponent's nine in the final two sets.
The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion will face Novak Djokovic for a place in the quarter-finals after the six-time Australian Open champion defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
"I have one more chance to play with a great player in the world," Chung said. "I'm just happy to share the court with Novak."
A solid first set from both men was decided in the 12th game as Chung attempted to force a tie-break, but Zverev, who was also bidding to reach his first fourth round down under, snatched the opener converting on his second set point after establishing a 0/40 lead.
Chung would not let the disappointment of the first set affect him however, successfully holding serve to force a second set tie-break. At 2/3 in that tie-break, Chung would string together five points to level the match with Zverev and bring the crowd to its feet.
The German would re-establish himself in the third set, showing the signs of a player with five ATP World Tour titles to his name. Both men may have had two break points, but Zverev would be the one to come out on top in each of those pivotal moments to move to within a set of equalling his best Grand Slam result.
From that moment, everything changed. The Korean finally broke his higher-ranked opponent’s serve and held a marathon third game to open a 3-0 lead and three more service holds were enough to send the match into a one-set shootout.
The decider was one-sided with the South Korean dropping just one point on serve and only five overall to clinch his spot in the last 16. A third five-set win of his young career was also his second win over a Zverev in three rounds, Chung also defeated Zverev’s older brother, Mischa Zverev, in the first round.
"I think we both played very good for four sets. I think the match was very high level," Zverev said. "I don't think it was bad at all. Even in the fourth set, you know, after I lost my serve, I think I still played well. I still had chances to break him back.
"I don't think I played bad. I think I played really bad the fifth set, but apart from that, in the first four sets, I think this was the best he can play," Zverev added. "If he backs this up, then we'll see how far he can go."
Source
"I'm just so happy to make the fourth round in [a Grand] Slam with so many good players," Chung said. "I don't want to stop here. [I want to] keep going."
Chung, who now owns a 2-0 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Zverev, recorded his first Top 5 win in the three-hour, 22-minute contest with the help of 19 winners to his opponent's nine in the final two sets.
The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion will face Novak Djokovic for a place in the quarter-finals after the six-time Australian Open champion defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
"I have one more chance to play with a great player in the world," Chung said. "I'm just happy to share the court with Novak."
 |
| Hyeon Chung battles back to defeat Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open on Saturday. |
Chung would not let the disappointment of the first set affect him however, successfully holding serve to force a second set tie-break. At 2/3 in that tie-break, Chung would string together five points to level the match with Zverev and bring the crowd to its feet.
The German would re-establish himself in the third set, showing the signs of a player with five ATP World Tour titles to his name. Both men may have had two break points, but Zverev would be the one to come out on top in each of those pivotal moments to move to within a set of equalling his best Grand Slam result.
From that moment, everything changed. The Korean finally broke his higher-ranked opponent’s serve and held a marathon third game to open a 3-0 lead and three more service holds were enough to send the match into a one-set shootout.
The decider was one-sided with the South Korean dropping just one point on serve and only five overall to clinch his spot in the last 16. A third five-set win of his young career was also his second win over a Zverev in three rounds, Chung also defeated Zverev’s older brother, Mischa Zverev, in the first round.
"I think we both played very good for four sets. I think the match was very high level," Zverev said. "I don't think it was bad at all. Even in the fourth set, you know, after I lost my serve, I think I still played well. I still had chances to break him back.
"I don't think I played bad. I think I played really bad the fifth set, but apart from that, in the first four sets, I think this was the best he can play," Zverev added. "If he backs this up, then we'll see how far he can go."
Source
Post a Comment