An injury-ravaged Novak Djokovic has been sent packing from the Australian Open, losing in straight sets to South Korean prodigy Hyeon Chung in the fourth round.
The 14th-seeded Serb needed a medical timeout for treatment of his injured elbow and was in obvious discomfort throughout as Chung stormed to a 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 7-6 (7-3) victory on Rod Laver Arena.
It continues a giant-killing run for world No 58 Chung, who defeated fourth seed Alexander Zverev on Saturday and his older brother, 32nd seed Mischa, in the opening round.
Djokovic must have felt like he was playing a younger – and fitter – version of himself throughout their three-hour, 21-minute clash.
The 21-year-old Chung bore an uncanny resemblance to his childhood idol with his speed, athleticism and freakish retrieval skills.
Coming off a six-month layoff, the longest of his career, Djokovic’s health had been questioned throughout the tournament and his troublesome right elbow appeared far from healed.
Again wearing a full compression sleeve on his arm, Djokovic sent down four straight double-faults in falling to a 4-0 deficit in the opening set.
The 12-time grand slam winner fought back to force a tiebreak but was clearly in pain when at full stretch and called for the trainer in between sets.
Chung continued to play inspired tennis, leaving Djokovic down two sets to love at Melbourne Park for the first time since his fourth-round loss to eventual champion Roger Federer in 2007.
