Chung Earns Confidence Boosting Win In Vienna

Hyeon Chung earned a confidence boosting victory on Tuesday to hand Milos Raonic his second straight first-round exit at the Erste Bank Open.

The 23-year-old South Korean worked his way to a 6-4, 7-5 victory over one hour and 44 minutes, withstanding a late comeback from Raonic in the second set.

The South Korean won the inaugural 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals title in Milan, but was sidelined this year for six months due to a back injury and returned in July. With his sixth tour-level victory of 2019, Chung will now play Andrey Rublev or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Vienna second round.

World No. 139 Chung broke Raonic’s serve in the opening games of each set – both times courtesy of Raonic forehand errors. Chung led 4-2 in the second set, before Raonic won three consecutive games — moving Chung around the court to break to love in the eighth game.

Raonic could not convert one set point on Chung’s serve at 5-4, Ad-Out, when Chung hit a forehand approach winner. Raonic lost 10 of the next 14 points.

Elsewhere, France’s Gilles Simon knocked out Spain’s 2004 champion Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 34 minutes to set up a clash against Aljaz Bedene, who struck 14 aces and won 28 of 29 first-service points in a 6-4, 6-4 win over seventh seed Guido Pella of Argentina.