Australian Open: Hyeon Chung dumps out Novak Djokovic
January 22, 2018
Novak Djokovic, who fought back to 5-5 after trailing the first set 4-1 before losing the tiebreaker on Monday, took a medical timeout to have his right arm massaged before the start of the second set.
He spent six months off the tour last year with a right elbow injury and was beaten at his own game by Chung, ranked 58th in the world, who dealt with everything the Serbian threw at him, returning with interest more often than not thanks to his trusty backhand.
Chung will now play another relatively unknown player in the quarterfinals - Tennys Sandgren, a 97th-ranked American who beat No. 5-seeded Dominic Thiem earlier Monday.
Kerber battles back to clinch victory
On the women's side, former No. 1 Angelique Kerber booked her place in the final eight after battling back in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Hsieh Su-wei. This extended her winning streak to 13 matches.Read more: Kerber thrashes Sharapova in third round
Despite some early setbacks in the opening set on account of Hsieh Su-wei's unorthodox shot selection, Kerber managed to overcome her frustrations and avoid suffering the fate of Garbine Muguruza, who had been knocked out of the first Grand Slam of the season by the Taiwanese player in the second round.
"First of all, credit to her. She played unbelievable. She was hitting the balls, I don't know. I was running everywhere and she always had an answer. I was everywhere," the former champion said after sealing a quarterfinal berth.
Though the final set saw Hsieh save two match points on her serve, Kerber comfortably served out the seventh game to set up a quarterfinal tie with Madison Keys - the American having made easy work of eighth-seeded Caroline Garcia of France 6-3, 6-2.
"It definitely made me realize how much I love it and how much pressure I put on myself. Missing this last year, I feel like I'm playing without pressure and just going out and playing my game," Keys said after her fourth-round victory.
Roger Federer books Tomas Berdych tie in final eight
The Rod Laver Arena saw 19-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer cruise into the Australian Open quarterfinals courtesy of a 6-4-7-6 (3), 6-2 victory against top-ranked junior Marton Fucsovics.
"He was not completely the unknown opponent that maybe people thought he was," the 36-year-old Swiss said. "He hung with me for a long time. So it was a good match."
This is the 14th time that Federer has reached the final eight at Melbourne Park and the 52nd time that he's featured at this stage of a Grand Slam. His opponent in the quarterfinals, will be power-hitter Tomas Berdych, who beat Fabio Fognini in straight sets 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. This will be the 26th time that the two will meet and the Czech player has not beaten the Swiss star since 2013.
Read more: Nadal to face Cilic in quarterfinals
Simona Halep sweeps past Naomi Osaka
Women's No. 1 Simona Halep reached the Australian Open quarterfinals for a third time and, after a 6-3, 6-2 win over Japan's Naomi Osaka.
"I'm really happy that I'm back in the quarterfinals," said the Romanian, who last made it this far in 2015 and has been nursing a troublesome ankle that she rolled in her first round match.
"The injury is still there. I feel it but I'm trying not to think about it and give it everything," she said.
The top seed will meet sixth seed Karolina Pliskova for a place in the semifinals after she rallied from a set down to dispatch of her Czech counterpart Barbora Strycova 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-2.
jt/pfd (Reuters, AP)