Well, that’s that. Hyeon Chung has had a magnificent tournament, beating Novak Djokovic and becoming the first Korean to reach the last four of a slam, but it’s ended on an unhappy note for the youngster. Playing Roger Federer when you’re 100% fit is difficult enough. Doing so with a blister is impossible. Chung couldn’t move by the end. Still, he can be proud of his efforts. You can’t get too downhearted about losing to Federer. The Swiss moves into another final. Marin Cilic, Federer’s victim in last year’s Wimbledon final, stands between him and a 20th major title. Join me on Sunday for live coverage - and while we’re at it, make sure you’re with us for tomorrow’s women’s final between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki. Until then. Thanks for reading. Bye.
Federer is asked about facing Marin Cilic in Sunday’s final. “We saw it against Rafa, we saw it again against Edmund. He brings power, he brings everything. He had a similar problem like Chung had in the Wimbledon final. Not having a brutal semi-final, he’ll have rest and we’ll see a different Marin Cilic this time. He crushed me in the US Open semi-finals. I’m excited to play him. We actually played together on vacation in the Maldives. We were both looking for a hitting partner. I told him to practice in the tropicals helped me get to the finals!”
Federer is asked about tomorrow’s women’s final between Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki. “I would love to be in that position again, to win a first major for the first time. It’s one of the cool moments of your career. Both have saved match points. Sometimes it’s like a cat, you have so many lives. They’ve both worked so hard. I’ll be watching and I’m very excited. They’re both nice ladies. I remember how it was winning my first major at Wimbledon and it rocked my world.
Federer offers more sympathy to Chung. “I could tell something was wrong before he took the timeout. But he has a great composure and I think we’re going to see a lot more for him. Top 10 for sure. The rest, I don’t know, I don’t want to put too much pressure on him. I think he’s going to be a great player.”
Roger Federer speaks! “In the second set I could see he was starting to get slower, fighting with the blister. It’s bittersweet. I’m incredibly happy to be in the final, but not like this.”
Hyeon Chung retires!
Chung chops a backhand slice long and immediately tells the umpire that he can’t continue. A blister appears to have done for him. What a sad ending. Federer cruises into the final. Chung cuts a miserable figure as he disappears down the tunnel.
Updated
Second set: Chung 1-6, 2-5 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer begins by zinging an ace past Chung. Then he knocks a backhand down the line. He skips to a love hold, This is a lovely evening stroll for the great man. You sense the only thing that could ruin his mood now is being interviewed by Will Ferrell again.
Second set: Chung* 1-6, 2-4 Federer (*denotes server): After a long delay, play resumes with Chung serving. Maybe Federer’s intensity dipped while he was waiting. A couple of scratchy misses allows Chung to scramble to 40-15. Chung holds with a fine winner.
Hyeon Chung receives a medical timeout
The Korean is still having treatment on his left foot.
Chung is having some tape applied to his left foot. They still haven’t found a cure for Federer, though,
Second set: Chung 1-6, 1-4 Federer* (*denotes server): Can we make it so Federer never retires?
Second set: Chung* 1-6, 1-3 Federer (*denotes server): Federer pummels a forehand down the line for 0-15, drawing a satisfied sigh from the crowd. Then a devilishly sliced backhand return leads to Chung netting a backhand for 0-30. This is all too much for the youngster. A long backhand makes it 0-40. Chung serves wide to the Federer backhand. Federer blocks long just as an out call is corrected. The point goes to Chung. Federer’s annoyed. He lets the umpire know. Then he clips a beautiful backhand down the line to break. It’s so easy.
Updated
Second set: Chung 1-6, 1-2 Federer* (*denotes server): As is so often the case, it’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it service game from Federer. Chung’s returns are making no impression at the moment.
Second set: Chung* 1-6, 1-1 Federer (*denotes server): Chung badly needs to hold here. On Eurospot, meanwhile, the commentator has just told Mats Wilander that Chung is a dead ringer for Michael McIntyre. An intriguing development. Chung holds to 15 when Federer blooters a backhand miles wide.
Second set: Chung 1-6, 0-1 Federer* (*denotes server): Federer holds to love. The way this is going, it might not be long before Jim Courier’s doing the post-match interview.
Roger Federer wins the first set 6-1!
Chung is serving to stay in the set here. A double-fault makes it 30-all. Nothing’s going right for the underdog and he’s facing set point after netting a forehand. We’ve only been going for 27 minutes. Federer overcooks a backhand, though, and then he completely fails to make contact with a forehand, swinging at thin air. That was like me. This is less like me, though, a peach of a forehand pass down the line. Soon Federer has another set point, Chung dropping a delicate volley agonisingly wide. Federer nets a backhand return, but he gets a third chance with another forehand winner. He can’t take this one either. He lashes a forehand away to earn a fourth chance; Chung comes up with his first ace. Chung is too inconsistent, though. He double-faults. This time there’s no reprieve. The fight looks to have drained out of Chung as he watches a Federer forehand fly off to his right.
First set: Chung 1-5 Federer* (*denotes server): The errors keep coming from Chung. It’s the biggest match of his life and it’s whizzing by at the moment. Federer holds to 15 with an ace.
First set: Chung* 1-4 Federer (*denotes server): Federer attacks the net to make it 0-30. Chung is in choppy waters here. A miscued backhand at 15-30 gives Federer two break points. Another miss, this time on the forehand side, pretty much hands Federer the set – barring an incredible turnaround. “Chung has nothing to lose & can play freely but against The Master that could work against him,” says John McEnerney. “Fed’s experience should see him through but you never know. Chung has been a breath of fresh air like KE but this the big boys playground & where the big boys dominate! Fed in 4.”
First set: Chung 1-3 Federer* (*denotes server): At 15-0, Chung sprays a return deep into the right corner. Federer charges on to it, though, and punches a diagonal forehand past Chung for 30-0. Soon it’s 40-0. An accurate second serve polishes off a hold to love.
First set: Chung* 1-2 Federer (*denotes server): Chung sloppily loses the first point. Are those alarm bells I hear? Maybe not. He responds by winning the next three with ease. Then he nails a forehand to hoist himself on to the scoreboard. His fans are feeling a bit better now.
First set: Chung 0-2 Federer* (*denotes server): Looking to consolidate the break, Federer stomps into a 40-15 lead without much resistance from Chung. He’s taken to 40-30, though, and then Chung starts to unwind. A vicious backhand from left to right opens up Federer and Chung nails a forehand down the line for deuce. All of a sudden, Chung is starting to land a few blows. And that might be having an effect. From a position of dominance, Federer is under pressure when he misses a forehand to give Chung a break point. Chung pulls the trigger a little early, though, swiping a forehand wide. Federer holds from there.
First set: Chung* 0-1 Federer (*denotes server): Hyeon Chung, of course, is the first Korean ever to appear in a grand slam semi-final. He’s bound to be nervous, and not just because of the man standing on the other side of the net. Although the identity of his opponent probably won’t help quell any butterflies. Especially when Federer begins by slashing a forehand return back at Chung, who nets for 0-15. This is an encouraging sign, though: a tense, see-sawing rally ends with Chung rattling a forehand crosscourt to force Federer to hit long. Soon, though, Federer has two break points. He looks dialled in and determined to make an assertive start. He lets Chung off the hook, netting two forehands for deuce, but he earns a third chance with a sharp return, and there’s no reprieve for the Korean this time. Chung nets a backhand and Federer has the early lead. Which explains why he chose to receive.
The roof is closed on Rod Laver Arena. The weather is filthy in Melbourne.
Federer wins the toss. He elects to receive.
The players emerge. Hyeon Chung, who’s become a hugely popular figure in the past fortnight, is the first to arrive on Rod Laver Arena. He gets a big cheer. But not quite as big as the one for Roger Federer - anything else would be a treasonable offence, after all.
😃
— Hyeon Chung (@HyeonChung) January 25, 2018
I am looking forward to playing Roger Federer soon in my first Grand Slam semifinal.
제 첫번째 그랜드 슬램대회 준결승에서 이제 곧 만날 로저 페더러 선수와의 경기를 고대하고 있어요 https://t.co/UsqIBK0Ihx
Preamble
Hello. If there’s been one thing missing from Roger Federer’s wondrous renaissance in the past year, it’s been a victory over Novak Djokovic. While Federer has remodelled his rivalry with Rafa Nadal, beating the Spaniard four times last year, he has not faced his Serbian nemesis since returning to the tour after six months out with a knee injury – and you suspect that might be an itch he’d like to scratch sooner or later. Consider, after all, that for a while Federer couldn’t stop losing to Djokovic when they met in the biggest matches. Djokovic beat him in the 2014 and 2015 Wimbledon finals, the 2015 US Open final and the final of the 2015 ATP World Tour Finals, and he obliterated the Swiss master in their Australian Open semi-final two years ago.
It was shortly after that defeat in Melbourne when Federer managed to injure his knee while running a bath for his kids. Djokovic, meanwhile, was looking invincible, especially when he completed the career slam at the French Open a few months later. Nobody could touch him. Federer could trouble him, but he couldn’t beat him; not when it really mattered anyway.
But by the time Federer regained fitness, the landscape had altered. Djokovic appeared to be at a spiritual loss, making craggy premature exits in the first three slams of 2017. Federer was back to his best, but his old rival was slipping away. He resumed his battles with Nadal, but there would be no chance to slap Djokovic down. Injury made sure of that. A dodgy elbow forced Djokovic to quit the season early and it was still troubling him when he made his return at this tournament, preventing him from setting up a semi-final with Federer today.
Federer will have to settle for the next best thing, then. For facing the defending champion today is a Next Gen prodigy they’re calling mini-Novak. And in the most ironic of twists, it was Hyeon Chung who sent Djokovic on his way in the fourth round here, out-elasticking his elastic-limbed hero in a stupendous display of scrambling, hustling, counterpunching tennis earlier this week. Make no mistake, a star is emerging. Chung, 21 years old and ranked 58th in the world, has never been in the last four of a slam before. But good judges expect him to be in the top 10 before the year’s out and though he’s never played the Korean before, Federer is wary of his threat.
But Federer is yet to drop a set at this tournament. He’s the champion. He’s the GOAT. He’s been here before. He’s seen it all. Chung will have his work cut out proving he’s the new Djokovic in this one.
Play begins at: 8.30am GMT and 7.30pm in Melbourne.
Updated
