Chung may have his chances against Federer

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Chung may have his chances against Federer

ByNina Pantic

Published Jan 25, 2018

It'll be youth versus wisdom on Friday night at the Australian Open. Roger Federer, seeking his 20th Grand Slam title, takes on 21-year-old Hyeon Chung.

Chung has made history by becoming the first-ever South Korean to reach the semifinals of a major. The world No. 58 did so in style, with victories over Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.

"I thought he played an incredible match against Novak," Federer said about Chung. "To beat him here is one of the tough things to do in our sport, I believe. I know that Novak maybe wasn't at 110 percent, but he was all right. He was giving it a fight till the very end. To close it out, that was mighty impressive."

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Federer, meanwhile, has looked flawless all fortnight long. He has yet to drop a set, but hasn't needed to face a seed higher than No. 19 Tomas Berdych. Awaiting the winner of this unexpected semifinalist will be Marin Cilic.

Cilic dismissed first-time semifinalist Kyle Edmund on Thursday.

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Federer is a big-time favorite to win it all. He boasts an 8-1 record over Cilic and has never faced Chung before. That may play to Chung's advantage, as Federer rarely takes on a new opponent so late in a major.

"I think it's an interesting match for me," Chung said. "I'll definitely have to look into how I need to play against him because he has some great qualities, especially defensively, like Novak has."