A 21-year-old South Korean just dumped his 'idol' Novak Djokovic out of the Australian Open

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January 22, 2018 12:36 PM

Chung Hyeon beat an injured Novak Djokovic and becomes the first Korean player in history to progress to the Australian Open quarter-final.

Novak Djokovic has been dumped out of the Australian Open.
He was beaten by 21-year-old South Korean player Chung Hyeon in straight sets.
Chung is the first Korean to ever reach the Australian Open quarter-final.

Six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic has just crashed out of the tournament after being beaten by a rookie ranked 58th in the world.

Chung Kyeon defeated Djokovic in straight sets, 7-6, 7-5, 7-6, and becomes the first Korean player to ever reach the Australian Open quarter-final.

Chung was able to turn defence into attack, came out on top during big rallies, and held his nerve to win points during the match's big moments.

It was a performance that was reminiscent of Djokovic himself and Chung even admitted after his victory that he has long been inspired by the 12-time major tennis champion.

"When I'm young, I'm just trying to copy Novak because he's my idol," Chung said, according to the BBC.

Djokovic appeared to struggle with an elbow injury. The Serb missed large parts of the 2017 season thanks to injury and only entered the tournament with a world rank of 14.

"I'm happy to see him back on the tour," Chung said of Djokovic.

INCREDIBLE! #emo# Hyeon #Chun... @ #AusOpen

Chung faces another surprise quarter-final entrant in Tennys Sandgren, who overcame fifth seed Dominic Thiem on Monday.

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