Yesterday afternoon in the presence of the Aussie great Rod Laver, two unseeded men competed for a coveted spot in the semifinals of the season’s first grand slam event.

Hyeon Chung, the twenty-one-year-old phenom from South Korea, currently ranked  no. 58 in the world, took on Tennys Sandgren, the twenty-six-year-old American from Tennessee who recently broke into the top 100 on the ATP tour. 

While Tennys Sandgren flew under the radar for most, having primarily competed on the Futures and Challenger Tours, Chung was anything but a secret on the ATP Tour.

The industry first took notice in 2015 when after qualifying for main draw play at the US Open, Chung, though he lost, took the 5-seed, Stan Wawrinka to three tie-break sets in the second round. He would further cement his reputation as a rising star on the ATP tour when he went undefeated to win the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan last November.

He scored his first top ten-win last week when he dethroned the reigning Next Gen superstar, world no. 4, Alexander Zverev, in five sets. He continued to impress in the following round when he defeated former world no. 1 and six-time Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic in straight sets.

Tennys Sandgren, his opponent in the quarter-finals, was making some noise of his own. In the second round he defeated the 2014 Australian Open champion and no. 9 seed Stan Wawrinka for his first top ten win, and in the fourth round, world no. 5 Dominic Thiem, for his first five-set victory.

It had been almost twenty years since two unseeded players competed in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park. Earlier this month in Auckland, they met for the first time. Chung, having won in three sets, knew he would have to dig deep on Rod Laver Arena.

In the third game of the first set, following a double fault and aggressive play by Chung, Sandgren faced triple break point and was broken but rallied well in the following game to create two break point opportunities. Chung, behind huge serves and excellent groundstrokes, saved both break points and held for 3-1.

Sandgren would face two break points in the following game but held for 2-3. Chung, serving at 4-3 with a break, held for 5-3 following erratic play by Sandgren. The American, with a couple of aces and a volley winner, held for 4-5. Chung consistently served big and found his range off the ground and closed out the set 6-4.

Sandgren served first in the second set and following a deft backhand volley by Chung, found himself down break point which Chung converted. Sandgren regrouped and continued to rip the forehand while Chung double faulted and missed an easy volley to give back the break.

Chung, serving at 3-4, opened with a double fault and was broken following two errors off the forehand. Sandgren served for the second set at 5-3 but after a slew of errors off the ground, Chung converted his second break point.

Chung held his ground on the baseline and with penetrating strokes off both sides, held to love to force a tie-breaker. When the opportunity arose, both players approached the net to finish off points but Sandgren was not as successful from the baseline; another error cost him the breaker, 7-5.

Both demonstrated unwavering composure throughout the match. Although he was down two sets, the American hit an ace to win his opening service game of the third set and though he was unable to convert, held a break point in Chung’s second service game.

Sandgren, serving at 1-2, faced multiple break points due in part to Chung’s exceptional play and the American’s unforced errors the last of which cost him the game. Chung, without question, was in the zone and held to love with an ace to go up 4-1 in the third.

Sandgren, down match point, serving at 2-5, 30-40, survived when Chung’s return found the net. The first sign of nerves appeared when Chung served for the match and a spot in the semis.

Having maintained his poise and focus throughout the match, Chung quickly went up triple match point but initially was unable to convert following two errors off the ground. He faced break point when another forehand sailed long. Sandgren held his nerve and created a second break point with a blistering forehand cross-court winner.

Chung fought off break point following an incredibly long rally, in which they exchanged a barrage of one-handed slice backhands, much to the delight of the crowd. Chung regained his composure and through steady play, forced multiple errors from his opponent and after 2 ½ hours, converted his sixth match point.  

Next up for the next-gen, right-now superstar – 19-time grand slam champion, Roger Federer. Although this will be there first meeting, no matter how you slice it, it is destined to be a memorable and enthralling encounter.