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In what is the most unexpected grand slam quarter-final in recent memory, Hyeon Chung and Tennys Sandgren will square off in the biggest match of their respective careers. Join The Roar for live scores from around 1pm (AEDT).
Neither player would have ever expected to make it this far through the first grand slam of the year, with the two unseeded players to fight for a spot in the semi-finals.
The American Sandgren has had the ‘easier’ run of the two players, but he has still had to overcome some of the best in the world, playing career-best tennis.
The World No.97 opened up his tournament with a straight-sets win over Jeremy Chardy, before battling past an injured Stan Wawrinka in four.
Even if the signs were promising, it was a struggle to get past Maximilian Marterer in the third round, taking four sets, before he pulled off a huge upset, knocking over fifth seed Dominic Thiem last time out in five sets.
After losing a fourth-set tie breaker, he rallied, regaining the momentum to take the match 6-3 in the fifth.
His run is even more surprising, given form was virtually non-existent throughout the early parts of 2018.
Chung is noted as one of the best young players on tour. The 21-year-old Korean won the Next Gen finals in 2017 to cap off a stellar year, rising to just outside the top 50 in the world rankings.
Still, he wasn’t even considered a dark horse for the Australian Open. It came after a second-round exit in Brisbane and a quarter-final loss in Auckland, but after going past Mischa Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, his last two rounds have been nothing short of spectacular.
The Korean first went past Alexander Zverev, rallying from two sets to one down to take 12 of the last 15 games and the match, holding the German world No.4 to love in the final set.
He then took on childhood idol Novak Djokovic and did what the Djoker has done to everyone for the better part of five years. Chung was a brick wall and in over three hours, took a straights set, hard-fought victory.
That level of defence should leave him in good stead for his battle against the American, although the amount of running he was forced to do may come back to hurt him.
The winner will book their spot in the semi-finals against either world No.2 and 19-time grand slam champion Roger Federer or Tomas Berdych.
Prediction
Chung cames in as favourite and rightly so. While he is less experienced than the American, he has knocked over a multiple-time grand slam champion and the world No.4 in the last two rounds and should progress here.
Chung in four sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this quarter-final from around 1pm (AEDT) or at the completion of Madison Keys versus Angelique Kerber on Rod Laver Arena and don’t forget to add a comment below.