South Korea’s bespectacled Hyeon Chung is proving to be a quick learner.
Already South Korea’s first grand slam quarterfinalist, the “Professor” is now the nation’s first ever semifinalist after dispatching the controversial figure of Tennys Sandgren 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 Wednesday at Rod Laver Arena.
There has been no stopping Chung in Melbourne — he upset Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the third round and his idol Novak Djokovic in the fourth.
If the 21-year-old South Korean defeats defending champion Roger Federer or Tomas Berdych on Friday, he will join Japan’s Kei Nishikori — currently recovering from a wrist injury — as the only men from Asia to make a grand slam final.
“We all Asian players looking (to) Kei and we trying to follow him,” Chung told reporters. “He’s the pride of Asian player.”
Chung’s Djokovic-esque game has wowed fans in Melbourne while his interviews have certainly charmed them, even with Chung still coming to terms with English. He is indeed learning the language, aided by shows like “Prison Break” and a friend from Chicago.
But he gets his point across.
Chung endeared himself to the spectators when he admitted he started to think ahead in the last game when he led 40-0, only to have to save two break points.
“I think last game many things come together,” he said. “If I win one more point, I make history in Korea. Something I thinking like that. I have to think about the ceremony.”
Chung introduced his entourage in his on-court interview, which included his parents and new coach Neville Godwin, who guided Kevin Anderson to last year’s US Open final.
Tennis is South Korea’s fifth most popular sport, Chung speculated — it’s sure to grow now with his success — and he got his start thanks to his dad. His father played tennis and so does Chung’s brother.
Astigmatism
But another reason he took up the sport was because he suffers from astigmatism — hence the glasses — and doctors told him looking at the color green would help his eyesight.
In November, Chung won the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals championship — an event to showcase tennis’ upcoming players — and the South Korean has carried on that form in the season’s first grand slam in Melbourne.
Chung’s opponents have seen him deliver a slew of winners and plenty of grit — he won the second set on Wednesday despite trailing 5-3.
The women’s semifinals are set in Melbourne after world No. 1 Simona Halep rallied from 0-3 to crush former No. 1 Karolina Pliskova 6-3 6-2 and Angelique Kerber — another former No. 1 — swept past an error prone Madison Keys 6-1 6-2.
Halep faces Kerber in a battle of undefeated players in 2018. Second-seed Caroline Wozniacki — yes she is also another former No. 1 — plays the unseeded Elise Mertens of Belgium.
Both are in form, too. Wozniacki won the year-end championships and was a finalist in Auckland this month, with Mertens successfully defending her title in Hobart.