Fed's masterclass to Chung

[atp2015]

Sure Chung was injured. But did anyone notice how Fed played differently than others against Chung to make him look like challenger level player? Several times he started center court rallies to cut off angles and get Chung to make error going for angles or something extra. Fed knew healthy Chung is fast and would hit incredible angles to pass him - instead don't allow him to play to his strength.
It reminded me of what Soderling said once - “Playing against Djokovic, Nadal, I could go off the court and feel I played well. “But against Roger, he just made me play bad".
That's exactly what Chung could have said.

 

[SinjinCooper]

Yeah, the injury only shortened the suffering. Fed was doling out serious strategic punishment.

That was like watching a world class chess player against...let's see, what's the intellectual opposite of a world class chess player...a Nadal fan.

 

[nikdom]

If I may humblebrag, predicted this is what would happen -

2018 AO SF - [2] Roger Federer vs Hyeon Chung

There are 4 things Roger will exploit better than anybody has thus far in Chung's game -

1. The return of serve of course. Roger has the advantage of not playing Chung at the stage Djokovic did and there'll be plenty of tape to look at for patterns and tendencies. Look for Roger to take extra chances on the ROS and be very aggressive even if he shanks a few. This will put a lot of pressure on Chung as he needs a few shots of baseline rhythm to get into a point. After 7-8 shots, I give Chung a 50-50 chance at winning the point as Roger's baseline game this year isn't as sharp as it looked last year (this could change)

2. Roger will not give a consistent ball to Chung, something all the players thus far have done. A lot more variety, spins, and slices to pull in Chung, who is OK at net, but not great enough to come in on Roger's terms.

3. Roger will (have to) serve better. There is nothing baseliners like more than getting their teeth sunk into a point and play the defensive odds. I don't think Chung's hours on court will be an issue unless they 5 sets. He's a young guy playing for broke; fitness won't be an issue. Roger going through fast service games will put more pressure on Chung.

4. Roger will have tremendous crowd support behind him and he knows how to feed off it while an opponent like Chung has never faced that kind of noise - especially if sets go to tiebreaks and crucial points like BPs on Roger's serve. I know he played a crowd favorite in Djokovic and there will be a good contingent of Korean fans, but Roger is Roger. RLA is his turf.

 

[ShahofTennis]

Yeah, strategy mitigates your opponents strengths. Next question.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[1HBHNation]

Pretty shocked tbh. Did Chung hire a twin to play for him. This is not the same guy that took down da joker.

 

[chjtennis]

Something only Federer can do.

 

[N01E]

Yeah, the injury only shortened the suffering. Fed was doling out serious strategic punishment.

That was like watching a world class chess player against...let's see, what's the intellectual opposite of a world class chess player...a Nadal fan.

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to be a Federer fan...

 

[Bartelby]

A Slam is a marathon and Chung hit the wall.

 

[nikdom]

Pretty shocked tbh. Did Chung hire a twin to play for him. This is not the same guy that took down da joker.

Nah, Djokovic was like a mirror giving him the same balls back to get into a groundie groove.

You could see even in today's match a few rallies in the first set that went Chung's way where he was playing exactly like he did Djoker. The difference is that Roger for the most part kept giving him different looks. That short and low slice to the BH wing was a killer.

 

[1HBHNation]

Nah, Djokovic was like a mirror giving him the same balls back to get into a groundie groove.

You could see even in today's match a few rallies in the first set that went Chung's way where he was playing exactly like he did Djoker. The difference is that Roger for the most part kept giving him different looks. That short and low slice to the BH wing was a killer.

Yea I saw that. It's an underrated shot. Couple times caught the chungmeister off balance with those and I saw him lunge with poor feetwork for a couple other. But hey, I coulda been the blisters too...

 

[Steve0904]

The ending was extremely unfortunate, but yes I did feel like this might happen regardless of whether Chung was 100% or not. He could've won a few more games if he wasn't injured, but this always looked like a straight set drubbing. We all knew Roger had the most variety of anyone Chung had faced and that Federer would probably eat his serve for breakfast so this result wasn't altogether surprising.

 

[ShahofTennis]

Something only Federer can do.

This is something only a Federer fan can say.

To be fair, you have to have a very high IQ to be a Federer fan...

Yeah, so intelligent that you purposefully act like a mindless drone in order to conceal your true bottomless intellect.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[nikdom]

Yea I saw that. It's an underrated shot. Couple times caught the chungmeister off balance with those and I saw him lunge with poor feetwork for a couple other. But hey, I coulda been the blisters too...

Who knows... it's a shame isn't it.

I thought it was nice of Roger also to acknowledge Novak's greatness in praising Chung.

 

[tennisaddict]

This had beatdown city written all over. I predicted as such in the match thread . Fed will probably never lose a match in his career to Chung .

 

[ghostofMecir]

Federer didn’t serve well (low%), but when it was in, Chung had no idea where it was going.

Aside from a couple of players who happen to be amongst the greatest returners ever, new players who play Fed for the first time have no idea at all where the serve is going. I’ve seen guys like Paire and Tiafoe and Coric and now Chung have just absolutely no idea where the serve is going due to probably the greatest service toss in history. They’re just frozen.

Just too damn good.

 

[1HBHNation]

Who knows... it's a shame isn't it.

I thought it was nice of Roger also to acknowledge Novak's greatness in praising Chung.

Yea was kinda pissed honestly. Got up early sacrificed sleep and saw a crappy match. Goggles South Korea did not show up! Can only imagine how the Aussie fans who paid ticket money felt....

 

[Devil_dog]

All credit to Fed but at the same time when you can't move like Chung likes to do and which is one of his relative strengths in the game it makes for a very lopsided match. Even Roger acknowledged this fact during the on-court with Jim C. That said, Fed was ready for Chung's game and Roger is one of the best (if not the best) in knowing how to dismantle opponents.

 

[donquijote]

Chung was clearly not moving well especially in the second set. Fed was able to do whatever he wanted and enjoy.

 

[texasleaguer]

can't understand why everybody is disappointed at Chung. Nobody expected him to win, so why are they pissed off when he did? JMAC started out saying Chung didn't stand a chance in hell, then as the match went on, started insulting Chung because he was doing just that.

 

[movdqa]

Sure Chung was injured. But did anyone notice how Fed played differently than others against Chung to make him look like challenger level player? Several times he started center court rallies to cut off angles and get Chung to make error going for angles or something extra. Fed knew healthy Chung is fast and would hit incredible angles to pass him - instead don't allow him to play to his strength.
It reminded me of what Soderling said once - “Playing against Djokovic, Nadal, I could go off the court and feel I played well. “But against Roger, he just made me play bad".
That's exactly what Chung could have said.

I think that I'd give some credit to his staff - they probably reviewed lots of Chung footage to come up with a plan.

 

[1HBHNation]

A Slam is a marathon and Chung hit the wall.

I see what u did there...

 

[BeatlesFan]

It was surprising that some thought a kid who never has even won a single tournament was going to trouble Fed. Roger was going to show him more variety in five games than Chung has ever experienced in his entire life. The kid just couldn't cope.

 

[1HBHNation]

At least he got paid for getting a tennis lesson...

 

[Nostradamus]

Sure Chung was injured. But did anyone notice how Fed played differently than others against Chung to make him look like challenger level player? Several times he started center court rallies to cut off angles and get Chung to make error going for angles or something extra. Fed knew healthy Chung is fast and would hit incredible angles to pass him - instead don't allow him to play to his strength.
It reminded me of what Soderling said once - “Playing against Djokovic, Nadal, I could go off the court and feel I played well. “But against Roger, he just made me play bad".
That's exactly what Chung could have said.

Then why is it that If I go up the middle a lot and not give my opponents angles,, then they will hit angles on me from the middle and put me on the run and that strategy doesn't work ... why is that ?

 

[Nostradamus]

At least he got paid for getting a tennis lesson...

Chung only lost because of his Blister from wearing that BAD shoes...... Not because Roger was any good

 

[1HBHNation]

Chung only lost because of his Blister from wearing that BAD shoes...... Not because Roger was any good

Which shoes does he wear? Didn't even notice. Some Korea brand? I will admit though blisters can hurt like a mofo.

 

[Boom-Boom]

Then why is it that If I go up the middle a lot and not give my opponents angles,, then they will hit angles on me from the middle and put me on the run and that strategy doesn't work ... why is that ?

because you have poor strokes maybe?

 

[atp2015]

I think that I'd give some credit to his staff - they probably reviewed lots of Chung footage to come up with a plan.

you are correct - but doesn't every top player's staff do that?

What's amazing is how the strategy gets played out. Another masterclass last year. After Mischa Zverev defeated Murray in last year's AO, I wondered how Fed would play him. Zverev looked unbeatable in his match against Murray and others in R1 to R4. Nobody could pass him at the net. He played like a champion until he met Fed. In the QF, his serve and volley was in total disarray.
See the difference in how Murray and Fed played against him. Murray would hit his very first shot away from him trying to pass - it opened up a nice angle for Zverev to tap the volley away for winner.
What did Fed do? the first shot would go right at Zverv and he could only block a weak volley back. Now Fed had all the time and court to do whatever he wanted with it. It looked so simple - why didn't others do it before Fed until the QF match?

 

[DRII]

Sure Chung was injured. But did anyone notice how Fed played differently than others against Chung to make him look like challenger level player? Several times he started center court rallies to cut off angles and get Chung to make error going for angles or something extra. Fed knew healthy Chung is fast and would hit incredible angles to pass him - instead don't allow him to play to his strength.
It reminded me of what Soderling said once - “Playing against Djokovic, Nadal, I could go off the court and feel I played well. “But against Roger, he just made me play bad".
That's exactly what Chung could have said.

amazing you can reach any conclusion based off of a 20 minute worth of play 'match'

BTW, the first 3 games shows that a healthy Chung would have been very competitive vs Federer.

 

[movdqa]

you are correct - but doesn't every top player's staff do that?

The money that the top players get is far more than lower-ranked players and they get a better pick of coaches. That said, the player has to be willing and able to execute the strategy.

 

[Nostradamus]

because you have poor strokes maybe?

poor strokes ?? Hitting up the Middle deep....not hard to do....easy to do acutally. but if you do that a lot,, opponents can creat angles on you by hitting topspin short angle in the service box and make you run

 

[Nostradamus]

Which shoes does he wear? Didn't even notice. Some Korea brand? I will admit though blisters can hurt like a mofo.

I thought Chung was wearing the Vapor X ??

 

[Tennisanity]

Here's Roger's Press Conference after the SF:

 

[atp2015]

Then why is it that If I go up the middle a lot and not give my opponents angles,, then they will hit angles on me from the middle and put me on the run and that strategy doesn't work ... why is that ?

If you only hit the middle, you are in trouble. It's center of the court and deep. Your opponent has very little angle to play from deep center.
Why don't everyone do that? well, hitting deep center with pace requires a lot more skill than simpler cross court.

 

[atp2015]

The money that the top players get is far more than lower-ranked players and they get a better pick of coaches. That said, the player has to be willing and able to execute the strategy.

To me it's the mental ability to stick to a plan based on your opponent. Everyone else go back to hitting their usual patterns regardless of the opponent. There's no way Djokovic would lose to Chung this week if he tried to make Chung play out of his comfort zone. Instead, Djokovic just played to Chung's strength - hitting deep and to the corners. Chung could stay back and weave his passing shot magic from corner to corner.

 

[Gazelle]

Chung is just not that good. Horrible technique on all his shots, except backhand. Overrated due to victories over Zverev (slam noob) and Djokovic (past it).

Federer can so easily dismantle guys with poor technique, as they have trouble containing his slice and the flaws show more because with his aggression he puts more pressure on them.

 

[movdqa]

To me it's the mental ability to stick to a plan based on your opponent. Everyone else go back to hitting their usual patterns regardless of the opponent. There's no way Djokovic would lose to Chung this week if he tried to make Chung play out of his comfort zone. Instead, Djokovic just played to Chung's strength - hitting deep and to the corners. Chung could stay back and weave his passing shot magic from corner to corner.

That's what drove me mad about Murray as well. He has so many other shots. He can hit a much better serve. He can volley well. But he so often gets into his comfort zone.

 

[Nostradamus]

Here's Roger's Press Conference after the SF:

So like here when the Korean reporter asked Roger ,,, "How far or how well do you think Chung can go and will do in ATP tour ?" Roger,,,,,Wrong answer.....LOL... Federer said,,"Well, I dont' really like to say a young player will win majors or how high he will go in ranking,, because that isn't fair. because you have to get there on their own"..............Wrong roger...

You don't seem to understand Koreans very well.......... What this reporter wanted to hear was ............." Oh yea,, he is very talented ,, very good player,,, he will win 3-4 majors before he is done and will be top 5 for sure"..............That would made the career of that reporter,, and would have got a promotion next day..... But Roger gave him an answer,,,,,he probably didn't even understand.................and ruined him.............lol

 

[Tennisanity]

So like here when the Korean reporter asked Roger ,,, "How far or how well do you think Chung can go and will do in ATP tour ?" Roger,,,,,Wrong answer.....LOL... Federer said,,"Well, I dont' really like to say a young player will win majors or how high he will go in ranking,, because that isn't fair. because you have to get there on their own"..............Wrong roger...

You don't seem to understand Koreans very well.......... What this reporter wanted to hear was ............." Oh yea,, he is very talented ,, very good player,,, he will win 3-4 majors before he is done and will be top 5 for sure"..............That would made the career of that reporter,, and would have got a promotion next day..... But Roger gave him an answer,,,,,he probably didn't even understand.................and ruined him.............lol

Interesting comments from 4:10 to 4:30

 

[Nostradamus]

Interesting comments from 4:10 to 4:30

Couldn't Roger throw the Koreans a bone,,,,,and tell them what they wanted to hear....though.........LOL............. I would had said,,, oh yea,,,he will win at least 3 majors and he will be top 5 player for sure,,,in near future.................Put that in your Korean Newpapers..........

 

[sarmpas]

Pretty shocked tbh. Did Chung hire a twin to play for him. This is not the same guy that took down da joker.

I'm not sure Chung has ever played so many rounds before in a tournament so he's not used to it however much training he's done.

 

[1HBHNation]

I'm not sure Chung has ever played so many rounds before in a tournament so he's not used to it however much training he's done.

True true. Young man looks promising though! Love the goggles too.

 

[Le Master]

Couldn't Roger throw the Koreans a bone,,,,,and tell them what they wanted to hear....though.........LOL............. I would had said,,, oh yea,,,he will win at least 3 majors and he will be top 5 player for sure,,,in near future.................Put that in your Korean Newpapers..........

Easy on the ellipses, man.

 

[Tennisanity]

Couldn't Roger throw the Koreans a bone,,,,,and tell them what they wanted to hear....though.........LOL............. I would had said,,, oh yea,,,he will win at least 3 majors and he will be top 5 player for sure,,,in near future.................Put that in your Korean Newpapers..........

Roger talks about how mono affected him in 2008 for 9 months after.

 

[Gary Duane]

Sure Chung was injured. But did anyone notice how Fed played differently than others against Chung to make him look like challenger level player? Several times he started center court rallies to cut off angles and get Chung to make error going for angles or something extra. Fed knew healthy Chung is fast and would hit incredible angles to pass him - instead don't allow him to play to his strength.
It reminded me of what Soderling said once - “Playing against Djokovic, Nadal, I could go off the court and feel I played well. “But against Roger, he just made me play bad".
That's exactly what Chung could have said.

I noticed that a champion, feeling fine, was playing a young guy who was playing at around 50%.

Let's see what Roger does against Cilic. Is he going to make him cry again?

 

[Gary Duane]

Couldn't Roger throw the Koreans a bone,,,,,and tell them what they wanted to hear....though.........LOL............. I would had said,,, oh yea,,,he will win at least 3 majors and he will be top 5 player for sure,,,in near future.................Put that in your Korean Newpapers..........

Not,,, sure,,, why....you....type this............way...

 

[ibbi]

He was just doing the Novak thing. Don't give him angles, feed him plenty of junk. If it works against Djokovic it will obviously work against junior Djokovic all the more so.

 

[atp2015]

I noticed that a champion, feeling fine, was playing a young guy who was playing at around 50%.

Let's see what Roger does against Cilic. Is he going to make him cry again?

A 36 year old was playing against 21 year old. People who have been 21 and 36 years of age in their life know how the body feels at each stage.

 

[Druss]

Many on TW like to point out how 'ancient and over the hill' 35yr old Agassi was at USO '05 (even though two years earlier he was No1 and holder of the AO title). Those same people now talk about a 36 yr old somebody as though he's at his peak. Fact is: USO '05 Agassi would have an excellent chance of winning this AO and many other slams contested in last couple years, not to mention Hewitt of '01-'05, Roddick of '03-'05, Nalbandian, heck even Davydenko would all be having a hey-day had they been playing at their peak in 2016-18 and some parts of 2014/15.

 

[wangs78]

I dunno why ppl are being so critical of Chung. The guy lost his mobility and lost to the greatest player ever. When Roger lost his mobility he lost to Stakhovsky and Robredo and everyone sympathized with his injury (back). Let’s try to be fair, Chung may not be beloved like Roger but let’s at least give him a fair shake.