(아시아) BBC: 정현은 역사를 만들고 있는 한국의 테니스 스타

출처: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42799463

Chung Hyeon: The Korean tennis star making history

• 25 January 2018

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Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionChung has won over his fair share of fans in South Korea (fair share of sth: an equitable or reasonable portion or share of sth; a good number, a large amount. 공정하거나 타당한 양, 다량, 다수.)

With his white-rimmed glasses and his easy-going attitude, Chung Hyeon has become one of the most talked about players at the Australian Open. (easy-going: (성격이) 느긋한, 태평스러운)

The 21-year-old has already made history as the first South Korean to reach a tennis Grand Slam quarter-final. (fair share: an equitable or reasonable portion or share of something; (more generally) a good number, a large amount.)

On Wednesday he beat American player Tennys Sandgren and will now come face-to-face with Swiss star Roger Federer at the semi-finals on Friday.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionChung comes from a family of tennis players

Chung, who comes from the South Korean city of Suwon, began his tennis career at the age of six.

His doctor had recommended that looking at the colour green would help with his weak eyesight. His father and older brother were both tennis players, and so naturally, he soon joined them.

At the age of 13, he moved to the IMG tennis training academy in Florida where he would be for the next two years. He later returned to South Korea and in 2014, turned pro.

But it wasn't until 2015 that his breakthrough came. Chung climbed 122 places in the world rankings and was voted "Most Improved Player" by his peers.

However, an abdominal injury in 2016 meant he missed out on both Wimbledon and the US Open. (miss out on: …을 놓치다.)

The 58th-ranked player now trains back in South Korea in the capital Seoul under coach Neville Godwin, a former tennis player from South Africa.

Growing up, Chung looked up to Novak Djokovic for his "fantastic game and mental strength", calling him his idol. He went on to beat Djokovic in a match last Monday. (look up to: ~를 우러러보다[존경하다])

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Image captionChung previously referred to Djokovic as his "idol"

Going for gold

Since his meteoric rise, Chung has drawn praise, admiration and high expectations from his fellow Koreans on social media. (meteoric rise: (증권·금융) 천문학적인 급상승. 일약 유명해짐. 혜성같이 나타남. 눈부신 출세. 급부상.)

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"There will be no player like Chung [for] at least the next 50 years," said one Twitter user in Korea.

"Perhaps he can even go for gold in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics," added Korean Rep An Min Suk of the ruling Democratic Party in a Facebook post.

And many noted he wasn't shy or visibly nervous, despite being up against the best tennis players in the world. (be up against sb: to be playing against somebody in a game, competition, etc. ~와 경기하다.)

A video clip of him signing a camera was being shared on Twitter after his win on Wednesday, as well as an interview where he talks about whether he gets a lot of female attention.

And he's given quite a few light-hearted interviews since. (light-hearted: 1. 편한 마음으로 즐기게 하기 위한. 2. 마음이 가벼운, 걱정이 없는) 

"He is one of the best players but more than that, [you can see] he's really enjoying the game," another said in a tweet.

The Australian Open, which is held in Melbourne, runs from 15-28 January.

Additional reporting by Minji Lee from BBC Korean.