When the Australian Open draw came out last week, the tennis world eagerly anticipated a fourth-round showdown between Novak Djokovic and a top up-and-coming “NextGen” player.
It’s happening…just not against that NextGen player.
Djokovic and Hyeon Chung will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers–and for the second time at the Australian Open–when they battle for a spot in the quarterfinals on Monday. In round one of the 2016 event in Melbourne, Djokovic coasted 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
Chung was only 19 years old at that point. Now 21, the South Korean has climbed to No. 58 in the world and he is the reigning champion of the inaugural NextGen ATP Finals in Milan. He was already off to a solid start to this 2018 campaign even before arriving at Melbourne Park, with a second-round showing in Brisbane (lost to Kyle Edmund in three sets) and a quarterfinal performance in Auckland–where he ousted Tennys Sandgren and John Isner before succumbing to David Ferrer. Chung has advanced this fortnight with defeats of Mischa Zverev (via retirement), Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Zverev. The latter scalp was especially impressive, as Zverev is No. 4 in the world and skipped last fall’s Milan proceedings because he played in the real year-end championship–the Nitto ATP Finals.
“(He is) someone that is very disciplined; one of the NextGens,” Djokovic said. “He won in [Milan] last year. He’s playing great. He’s fit. He doesn’t have too many holes in his game. He’s very nice guy. You can see he’s a hard worker. It pays off. Into second week, it’s going to be a game of small margins.”
No opponent has been any match for Djokovic so far in Melbourne. Only various physical issues and some searing heat in round two have made things somewhat complicated for the former world No. 1, who is participating in his first event since Wimbledon last summer following six months off due to an elbow injury. It is his hip that has apparently bothered him at the Australian Open, although he may have favored his elbow a little bit, as well, during his heat-marred match against Gael Monfils. Djokovic limped around in between points on Saturday but still easily disposed of Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
Chung has a number of factors working against him heading into this one. He has never played on this kind of stage against this kind of opponent this late in a slam, and he has also played a ton of tennis already in this tournament (he’s also in the doubles third round after upsetting defending champions Henri Kontinen and John Peers with partner Radu Albot). The biggest factor of all, though, is the man on the other side of the net. As much fuss as Djokovic is making in between points, during the actual competition he has looked nothing less than 100 percent.
Assuming the case remains the same, the six-time Aussie Open champion should roll into another quarterfinal.
Pick: Djokovic in 3
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