VIDEO: Novak Djokovic knocked out after 'an amazing performance' from Hyeon Chung in Australian Open fourth round
Novak Djokovic knocked out after 'an amazing performance' from Hyeon Chung in Australian Open fourth round
The 21-year-old Korean stunned Djokovic 7-6 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (3)
Paul Newman Melbourne @PaulN54 10 hours ago
Djokovic lost in straight sets to the Korean youngster Getty
Novak Djokovic hailed “an amazing performance” by Hyeon Chung here today at the Australian Open but revealed after his 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 defeat that he had been suffering with pain from the injured elbow which had kept him out of competition for the previous six months.
Chung, who became the first Korean man or woman to reach the singles quarter-finals at a Grand Slam tournament, produced a superb display of counter-attacking tennis reminiscent of Djokovic himself to earn a meeting in the last eight with the American Tennys Sandgren.
The 21-year-old Korean, who is one of the best of the next generation of players who have broken through in the last year, had beaten Alexander Zverev, the world No 4, in the previous round, but nothing could compare with this victory over the six-times Australian Open champion.
“When I was young I just tried to copy Novak because he was my idol,” Chung said afterwards. “I’m just honoured to play with Novak again and I am happy to see him back on the tour.”
Djokovic had confirmed his participation here only 48 hours before the tournament began, having pulled out of his planned comeback in Doha because the elbow problem which had kept him out of the game since Wimbledon was still troubling him.
After his defeat to Chung, Djokovic admitted that his health was “not great” and said his elbow had started hurting at the end of the first set. “I had to deal with it till the end of the match,” he said.
“It's frustrating, of course, when you have that much time and you don't heal properly, but it is what it is. There is some kind of a reason behind all of this.
View Full Text
kcontents
