History-maker Chung eyeing more headlines
Few might have expected a young Korean to be grabbing the headlines at this year's Australian Open.
Enter 21-year-old Hyeon Chung, leading the charge for the next generation.
The first Korean player to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam after a dream run at the Australian Open, Chung could go one step further on Friday night when he takes on Roger Federer in the last four.
The great Swiss might pose a seemingly insurmountable challenge for the world No. 58, but Chung has already sprung surprises over the likes of world No. 4 Alexander Zverev and 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park this fortnight and surprising even himself.
"I'm really surprised because I really don't [expect to] make semis," he reflected on Wednesday. "I beat Sascha, Novak and other good players. I'm never playing in [the] second week in Grand Slam, so I'm really surprised."
Chung will become the highest-ranked South Korean player in history after the tournament, surpassing Hyung-taik Lee, who ranked at No. 36 back in 2007.
It's a dramatic rise for a player who has yet to reach a Tour-level final. Indeed, should he find a way past Federer in their first meeting, he would become the first man to reach his first Tour-level final at a Grand Slam since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did so at the 2008 Australian Open.
Chung, a former junior world No. 7 and runner-up in the boys' singles event at Wimbledon in 2013, was part of three ITF Junior Touring teams, financed by the Grand Slam Development Fund, during the formative years of his tennis development.
He was a member of the ITF/ATF 14 and under Junior Team to Europe in 2009, the Asian 16 & Under ITF/GSDF Team in Asia in 2012 and the International 18 & under ITF/GSDF Team to Europe in 2012.
When Chung takes on 36-year-old Federer, 14 years and 284 days his senior, it will be the fourth largest age gap between Grand Slam semifinalists in the Open Era. Chung can be buoyed by the fact that the younger man has won in four of Top 5 Grand Slam semifinals with the largest age difference.
Watch out Roger, the future is here.