Advertisement

Chung shares disturbing image of foot injury

WARNING: Graphic images.

Hyeon Chung has shared a disturbing image of his injured foot after his agent revealed the extent of his blister injuries.

Chung defended his decision to retire in the second set of the Australian Open semi-final against Roger Federer after succumbing to the pain of a badly blistered "red raw" foot.

Chung came from nowhere to reach the last four at Melbourne Park, claiming the scalp of Novak Djokovic before being dominated by defending champion Federer - who will play Marin Cilic in Sunday's final.

Nineteen-time grand slam champion Federer took just over half an hour to win the first set 6-1 and led 5-2 in the second when the unseeded Chung decided he could not continue.

The South Korean called for a medical timeout to get his foot taped, but ended his dream run soon after.

FED FIRES UP: Federer slams umpire over 'bulls**t' call

FAST AND FURIOUS: Kyrgios tries to sell another car with hilarious listing

Chung addresses the media after his semi-final loss. Pic: Getty
Chung addresses the media after his semi-final loss. Pic: Getty

"It really hurt, I could not walk anymore," said the 21-year-old. "I think I did right thing.

"I'm happy to be able to make the semis in a grand slam. I want to be stronger next year."

The youngster, who took the Aussie Open by storm, took to Instagram to share a disturbing image of his damaged foot.

"Tonight, I tried very hard to bring my utmost energy to the tennis court as usual," Chung wrote on Instagram.

Chung's foot injury was clearly serious. Pic: Instagram
Chung's foot injury was clearly serious. Pic: Instagram

"However, I had to make a tough decision given that I cannot compete 100% against Roger, in front of many tennis fans. Please understand. I wish all the best luck for Roger Federer in the finals."

Chung's agent, Stuart Duguid, explained the extent of the damage suffered by the Next Gen ATP Finals champion.

"It's like worse than regular blisters. Over the last few days, it was blister under blister under blister. He had it shaved off. Now it's red raw," said Duguid.

"They tried injections to see if it numbed the pain. It didn't work."

He added: "I think a lot of players get callouses. As they go along, they shave them down. Because he has played so many matches in the row, I think that's why it was a build-up. I think that's how they started."

Chung receives treatment on his troubled foot. Pic: Getty
Chung receives treatment on his troubled foot. Pic: Getty

Chung's coach Neville Godwin revealed the issue had started earlier in the month in Auckland.

“Hyeon always has calluses on his feet, which is normal, all the players have that,” Godwin said.

“He just hadn’t shaved them down far enough, so in Auckland they started blistering and bruising underneath.”

Godwin explained how painful the injections were that the South Korean needed just to take to the court.

“These are serious injections,” Godwin said.

"Each one lasts like a minute. The guy is biting into a towel for a minute, and you have to do it pretty close to match time otherwise it wears off. So 45 minutes before a match, and he’s biting into a towel having someone jabbing his feet."

"We just basically ran out of time. He’s young, and he had a great run, and it’s a very unfortunate time for it to happen, but he managed it the best that he could actually. He had three doctors, a podiatrist and five trainers running around after him the, sort of, last 10 days."

Meanwhile, Federer offered wonderful words of encouragement to the heartbroken Korean after he was forced to retire from the Australian Open.

The unseeded 21-year-old was a set and 5-2 down against the 19-time grand slam champion when he stunned Melbourne Park and his opponent, by informing the chair umpire he could no longer continue.

Chung was forced to take an injury timeout at 4-1 down in the second set - with trainers attending to a blister complaint on his foot.

The Korean managed to carry on through the pain for the next two games, before pulling the pin at 30-30 when 5-2 down and serving to stay in the second set.

For Federer the 6-1 5-2 passage into his seventh Australian Open final, where he'll come up against Croatian sixth seed Marin Cilic, was tinged with sympathy for his stricken rival.

"Obviously I'm incredibly happy to be in the finals, but not like this," Federer said after the match.

Then in words sure to help lift the spirits of the heartbroken Chung, the 19-time major winner backed the Korean to go on and become one of the sport's next generation of superstars.

"I could tell something was wrong before he took the injury timeout, but he has a great composure," Federer said.

"He is already a great player, but we are talking next level excellence and I think he will achieve that.

"We will see much more of him. Top 10 for sure. The rest we will see.

"I don't want to put too much pressure on him. He has done very well. I can see why he beat the likes of Novak (Djokovic) and Sascha (Zverev) and all the others this week and in the past.

Federer offered kind words of encouragement for Chung. Pic: Getty
Federer offered kind words of encouragement for Chung. Pic: Getty

"I think he is going to be a great, great player."

Lleyton Hewitt confirmed in commentary that Chung had been battling the problem throughout the year's first major.

"It's a blisters issue," Hewitt said during commentary.

"He has had some feet issues in the locker room, before every match and on his days off getting a lot of treatment.

"He burns rubber, that is for sure."

Defending champion Federer now has a chance to lift his 20th grand slam singles title and a sixth at Melbourne Park, in Sunday night's decider against Cilic.