Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic has told South Korean media that he believes 19-year-old Hyeon Chung is the future of the men’s tour.
Ivanisevic made the comments in the lead up to the Korean Motors Masters Cup, the latest stage on the ATP champions tour. The tour is for retired tennis professionals and includes players such as Pete Sampras, Thomas Enqvist and Tim Henman. When asked about Chung’s chances, the Croat said he was one of four players that were ‘the future of tennis’.
“Chung is one of the most promising upcoming players, along with Borna Coric, Alexander Zverev and Thanasi Kokkinakis – they’re the future of tennis,” said Ivanisevic.
“He hits the ball extremely well, but he needs to work on his serve. He’s going to be one of the leading players in the world. He can be Top Ten.”
2015 has been a breakthrough season for the teenager who has claimed four Challenger titles. Chung also won his first main draw match at a Masters event when he defeated Spain’s Marcel Granollers in the first round of the Miami Masters. In September the 19-year-old defeated James Duckworth to claim his first Grand Slam main draw win before losing in the second round to Stan Wawrinka. He is currently at a career high of 52 in the world.
Following the praise from Ivanisevic, who is the coach of former US Open champion Marin cilic, Chung has labelled world No.6 Kei Nishikori as his inspiration as he optimistically discusses the future of Korean tennis.
“I just want to keep playing tennis, keep pushing myself to see how far I can go,” Chung said.
“Kei Nishikori is an inspiration for me. I hope that he will be surrounded and overtaken by some Korean players in the future – I’m very excited about the future of Korean tennis.”
Chung is the second highest ranked teenager in the top 100. The highest is world No.39 Borna Coric, who is six months younger than Chung.
Highlights of Hyeon Chung in action against Lukas Lacko in the final of the 2015 Busan Challenger, South Korea
