MELBOURNE, Australia — Between the points on Monday night at the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic was frequently wincing in pain and glancing at his right elbow.
During the points, it was as if he were staring into a tennis mirror, as Hyeon Chung, his 21-year-old opponent from South Korea, rebooted points from extreme body positions and transformed defense into offense in ways that were eerily similar to Djokovic at his best.
“When I was young, I just tried to copy Novak because he was my idol,” Chung later explained.
His boyhood idol was not at his best in this fourth-round match in which Chung prevailed, 7-6 (4), 7-5, 7-6 (3).