Chung enjoying breakthrough season

 

Originally published on 30/09/15

The 19-year-old, who started the year ranked No.173, is up to a career-high No.58 after winning the his fourth Challenger title of 2015 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He is the third youngest player in the top 100 after Borna Coric and Alexander Zverev.

In 2008, Chung showed his potential when he won the Under 12s Orange Bowl and Eddie Herr titles in the same season. He was also a junior finalist at Wimbledon, beating Nick Kyrgios and Coric before falling in the 2013 boys' final to Italian Gianluigi Quinzi.

But it has been in 2015 that he has really made a name for himself. In March he made his debut on the ATP World Tour, beating Marcel Granollers in Miami before his first encounter against a Top 10 player, losing in straight sets to Tomas Berdych.

After losing in qualifying for the Australian Open and Roland Garros, Chung made his first Grand Slam appearance at Wimbledon, losing in five tight sets to Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert 8-10 in the fifth set. At the US Open he recorded his first win at a major, beating James Duckworth, before taking Stan Wawrinka to three tiebreak sets in the second round.

“He’s a really good player,” Wawrinka said after the match. “He's moving well. He's a great fighter. He always tries to give you more balls to play or always try to find solution. He plays well from the baseline.

“He can be really good, for sure. He's young and already playing well. He has a long way to go. You have to see how he's going to practise, improve, how he's going to work. That you will see in a few years only.”

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