South Korean teenager Hyeon Chung continued his rapid rise up the ATP rankings ladder this weekend by capturing his 4th ATP Challenger Tour title of the year in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. With the win Chung will climb into the top 60 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Chung dispatched Yuki Bambri of India in 40 minutes to claim the title with ease.
Chung has long been lauded as one of the most talented younger players on tour with the likes of Borna Coric, Thanasi Kokkinakis, Alexander Zverev, etc. Chung has used success on the challenger tour to climb the rankings and get himself more main draw experience. At this year’s US Open, Chung announced himself primed and ready to a wider more mainstream audience by pushing Stan Wawrinka to 3 tiebreak sets before ultimately succumbing to the slam winning Swiss. After the match Wawrinka praised Chung saying,
“He’s a great fighter. He always tries to give you more balls to play or always tries to find solutions.”
In that match Chung demonstrated both movement and timing that many think will allow him to be a future top 10 player.
The South Korean’s game is based around mobility, tenacity, and taking the ball early. Chung has used all three to overcome much talked about hitches in his swing. Many coaches and experts consider these hitches to be flaws that could deter his success on tour. However, Brad Gilbert, like others in Chung supporter’s camp, feel his mobility will make his hitches a moot point. Gilbert tweeted after Chung’s Kaohsiung victory,
“Chung has excellent speed around the court- also takes the ball very early despite the hitches.”
The speed and earliness that Chung take’s the ball have been qualities that many observers say will lead him to being a top tour player in the future.
Just this week at the tour’s stop in Shenzhen, Chung continually stepped into the court to take serve returns early. The strategy paid off as Chung converted 70% of his break point opportunities in advancing to his first ever main tour quarterfinal, where he lost a close match to slam winner Marin Cilic. If Chung does wish to continue his rise through the rankings, he (self admittedly) will need to continue and try and bulk up his serve. Chung is consistently hitting the 125 mph barrier this season and has simplified his swing while still adding more pronation to help with the velocity.
If Chung continues his strong Asian swing performance, he could end the season in the top 35 in rankings and become the highest ever ranked South Korean man on tour. Chung is one of a handful of young, talented Koreans including Duck Hee Lee, Seong Chan Hong, and Yeunsong Chung, hoping to establish Korea as tennis power on the ATP Tour.
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