Hyeon Chung opens up on his next goal after Australian Open surprise
Chung has ambitions to win a Grand Slam in the future.
Hyeon Chung has revealed that he is on his way to recovering from a leg injury, which forced him to retire midway through his game against Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The youngster has ambitions to win a Grand Slam in the future and has set his sights on the French Open in May, having done very well on clay in 2017.
Chung was the biggest surprise package at the Australian Open last month as he battled his way to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time. The 21-year-old knocked out former world number one Novak Djokovic on his way to the last four. However, he fell to eventual winner Federer in the semis, but not before he had earned a lot of plaudits for his performance in the tournament.
Chung has also received applause from former world number one Boris Becker, who expects the South Korean to join the likes of Alexander Zverev and Nick Kyrgios as the group of next generation stars to end the dominance of the "Big 4". Both Federer and Rafael Nadal have taken the last five Grand Slams between them. Chung wants to break that pattern in the coming days by winning one of his own.
"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," Chung said, as quoted by the Express. "My performance on clay courts was good last year."
Chung is currently recovering after gravely injuring his foot against Federer, something he attributes to not having the experience of playing so many games in such a short period of time. However, he is on the verge of full recovery and expects to be back training next week.
"I've seldom played so many games unremittingly and my feet reached their limits," Chung said. "My doctor says the blistered feet are curing well due to my young age and I will be able to start training next week."