Roger Federer Beats Hyeon Chung to Advance to 2018 Australian Open Final
Roger Federer booked his spot in a 30th Grand Slam final as Hyeon Chung retired from their 2018 Australian Open semi-final on Friday with the Swiss leading 6-1, 5-2.
The defending champion was dominant from the start on Rod Laver Arena and broke his 21-year-old opponent three times as he whistled through the first set.
Chung then took a medical timeout and was treated for blisters while trailing 4-1 in the second, and he called time on the match as he served to stay in the set.
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Federer, 36, will face Marin Cilic in the final as he aims to win a 20th Grand Slam title.
Chung and Federer were only on court for 62 minutes, and the young South Korean was barely in the match.
He was broken by Federer at the first time of asking to trail 1-0 and, despite earning a chance to break straight back, could not level proceedings.
After Chung got his name on the board with a hold for 2-1. Federer then won four games in succession to take the first set.
Some fantastic forehand strokes and fine net play proved too much for Chung. A stunning winner from the Swiss to seal the opener illustrated the gap in class between the two players, per Eurosport UK:
When Federer broke again in the second set with a glorious backhand pass to lead 3-1 it became apparent that Chung was struggling, and he took a medical timeout at 4-1 to get treatment for blisters.
He returned to the court and did well to hold for 4-2, but he then conceded defeat to hand Federer a spot in the final.
Even a fully fit Chung would likely have struggled to deal with Federer given the form the five-time champion has shown so far in the 2018 Australian Open.
But it was a disappointing end to a fine tournament for the Korean youngster, especially given his eye-catching performances in the previous three rounds, most notably the last-16 defeat of Novak Djokovic.
Federer will be the strong favourite to down Cilic in a repeat of the 2017 Wimbledon final as he aims to win a sixth Australian Open title.
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