Jeong Hyeon is making a backhand stroke against Lee Tu (Australia) in the men’s professional tennis (ATP) Sisley Seoul Open Challenger singles round of 16 held at the Olympic Park tennis court in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Yonhap News” class=”fr-fic fr-dib”/>Jeong Hyeon is making a backhand stroke against Lee Tu (Australia) in the men’s professional tennis (ATP) Sisley Seoul Open Challenger singles round of 16 held at the Olympic Park tennis court in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Yonhap NewsJeong Hyeon (28), who reached the semifinals of the Australian Open, finished the ATP Challenger tournament held in Korea in the round of 16. However, after five years, they won the finals of an ATP Challenger or higher level tournament, raising expectations for a revival.
Chung Hyeon lost to Lee Tu (Australia) in the round of 16 singles at the ATP Sisley Seoul Open Challenger (total prize money: $133,250) held at the tennis court at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul on October 31. Chung Hyeon, ranked 1473rd in the ATP rankings, won the first set against his opponent ranked 184th, but lost 1 to 2 (6-4 3-6 1-6).
Unfortunately, I had to be satisfied with passing the first round of the finals. Two days ago, Jeong Hyeon defeated Jeong Yun-seong (704th place, Anseong City Hall) 2 to 0 (7-5 6-3) in the first round.
Jeong Hyeon won the first set against a formidable opponent, Lee Tu. He took the lead with a solid backhand stroke, an aggressive net dash, and an exquisite volley.
However, Lee Tu is a competitive player who won one set over Carlos Alcaraz (2nd place, Spain) in the first round of this year’s US Open. With the game score of 2 to 1 in the second set, he broke Jeong Hyeon’s serve game and changed the mood. Jeong Hyeon committed a double fault at 30-30, and it was painful that his forehand stroke hit the net and was out.
Jeong Hyeon, who gave up the flow, was dragged down in the third set by a score of 0 to 4. He made up for it by holding his serve at 0-5, but the last backhand went off, giving him the win.
Jeong Hyun is using a forehand stroke in the round of 16 of the Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) Sisley Seoul Open Challenger singles held at the tennis court at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 31st. Yonhap News
However, Chung Hyeon’s expression during the post-game interview was quite revealing. Jeong Hyeon said with a smile, “I lost unfortunately because I couldn’t manage the 3rd set point, but I was happy to be able to play in front of the fans again,” and added, “I want to come back in good shape in more games.”
It has been five years since Chung Hyeon won the ATP Challenger or higher level finals. This is the first time since the first round of the ATP Tour East Bank Open in October 2019. This is why he fell into a long tunnel of injuries, including to his back, after winning the 2017 Next Generation event, which featured top prospects under the age of 21, and making the semifinals of the 2018 Australian Open.
Chung Hyun, who had been concentrating on rehabilitation, won the first round of the French Open in September 2020 and the Wimbledon preliminary round in June last year. After being injured again, he returned to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Futures Tournament held in Japan last September. He was eliminated in the first round of the challenger competition held in Taiwan last week, but advanced to the second round of the domestic competition.
Chung Hyeon said, “I can’t say I’m in better shape than a few years ago (when I reached the semifinals of the Australian Open),” but added, “I recently played in a hot country for three weeks in a row, and my body was fine.” He added, “There is no major problem even if I participate in the competition for two weeks in a row.”
Chung Hyeon’s game at the Australian Open, where he reached the semifinals in 2018. Korea Tennis Association
I also found some confidence. Jeong Hyeon said of Lee Tu, “I know that my opponent has been playing well recently as he has been on tour all year long,” and added, “Even though I lost, I had a chance to win, and I felt like I could compete on the tour.”
However, our own analysis shows that we still lack practical sense. A clear example is that the first serve success rate on this day was only 52%. Jeong Hyeon confessed, “I lost my sense of the game, had no faith in myself, and felt impatience and pressure.” He continued, “If there had been more, I would have gained confidence and sense that I could create more opportunities.”
In order to participate in another major tournament, you must increase your ranking points. However, due to the low ranking, it is not easy to even participate in the competition. Although he earned 7 ranking points through the quarterfinals of this competition, he is still outside of the top 1000. Jeong Hyeon said, “I’m looking at the competition schedule, but since there is no ranking, it’s not easy to catch one,” and added, “Wild cards are also given priority to players from our country.”
Chung Hyun put on a dream performance at the 2018 Australian Open, defeating ‘flawless man’ Novak Djokovic (4th place, Serbia) and clashing with ‘Emperor’ Roger Federer (retired, Switzerland) in the semifinals. He, who announced the beginning of the Korean tennis craze, has begun his steps toward revival, united by a weak but strong will.
