Chung Hyeon becomes 1st S. Korean ATP champion in 14 yrs

SEOUL, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- Chung Hyeon has become the first South Korean to win an ATP Tour title in more than 14 years. The 21-year-old won the inaugural Next Generation ATP Finals in Milan, Italy, on Saturday (local time). The world No. 54 defeated the 37th-ranked Andrey Rublev of Russia 3(5)-4, 4-3(2), 4-2, 4-2. The last South Korea to win an ATP Tour singles title had been Lee Hyung-taik in January 2003. The Next Generation ATP Finals was the season-ending event for players 21 or younger. The tournament was also contested under several new rules -- matches took best-of-five formats and the first to four games, instead of the usual six games, won each set. The top seven players in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan qualified for the Next Generation ATP Finals, and Chung was only the seventh seed. He moved up a spot when the top-seed Alexander Zverev withdrew to play the ATP World Tour Finals the week after the Next Generation ATP Finals. In the final, Chung dropped the first set against Rublev, struggling against the Russian's powerful serves. Rublev continued to rely on his serves to pick up points in the second set, but Chung managed to even the match in a tiebreak. Rublev appeared to lose his cool a bit in the third set, which Chung won 4-2. The South Korean then broke the Russia to open the fourth set. Then leading 3-2, Chung held his serve to clinch the title in just under two hours. The Next Generation ATP Finals didn't offer any ranking points, but Chung still cashed in US$390,000 in the winner's check. jeeho@yna.co.kr (END)