Hyeon Chung
Tennis - Australian Open - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, Australia, January 20, 2018. Hyeon Chung of South Korea reacts after winning against Alexander Zverev of Germany. Reuters / Thomas Peter

Rising South Korean tennis star Hyeon Chung emerged as the biggest story of the recently concluded 2018 Australian Open. Chung, ranked No. 58 in the world, became the lowest-ranked player to make an Australian Open semi-final since Russia's Marat Safin in 2004.

Chung defeated the likes of World No. 4 Alexander Zverev, 6-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic and American wildcard Tennys Sandgren en route his career first Grand Slam semi-final. However, Chung ran into the red-hot Roger Federer, who prevailed Sunday in a hard-fought final against Marin Cilic.

"I will do my best to stay in form so that I don't have to quit in the middle of a match next time. The most memorable match was the one against Novak Djokovic. There was no guarantee that I would have beaten Federer even if I was in my best form, but it was unfortunate that my feet were injured when I faced him,” Chung said while talking about the injury that ended his 2018 Australian Open campaign.

In his first-ever showdown against Federer, the 21-year-old Chung couldn't put his best foot forward, retiring prematurely with a foot injury. Chung was trailing the second set 5-2 after Federer breezed through the first set. Despite getting overwhelmed by the iconic Federer, the young Korean is hoping to carry forward the momentum when he next returns to action.

Chung returned home to South Korea over the weekend to a hero's welcome. The 21-year-old revealed that he missed his favourite home food while away on the two-week tour to Melbourne. "I just want to get a good rest, and have some pork. I’ve mostly eaten beef while I was abroad, so I miss pork. And one of my favourite things to do is rolling on my bed, so I want to do that," Chung added in an interview to Chosun.com.

Hyeon Chung first burst into the spotlight last November when he defeated rising Russian star Andrey Rublev in the inaugural Next Generation ATP Finals. Since then, Chung has grown leaps and bounds and is widely regarded as a future star in the sport of tennis. According to American tennis legend John McEnroe, Chung is primed to "win several majors" in his career.