Jeong Hyeon (27), the protagonist of the ‘Australian Open semifinalist myth’, grabs the singles racket after 2 years and 7 months.

It was on the 18th that former Uijeongbu City Hall coach Yoo Jin-seon, who served as the tournament director (T/D) of the Men’s Professional Tennis (ATP) Seoul Open Challenger, announced that “Jung-hyeon received a wild card in the finals and made the final decision to participate in the singles.” .

Six days later, on the 24th, when the bout was confirmed, Chung Hyeon will return to the singles match against Australia’s Jordan Thompson (29, 91st in the world) in the second singles match on the second day of the tournament held on the 25th at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Stadium Center Court. Jung Hyeon will also compete in doubles depending on his physical condition.

It is the first time in two years and seven months since the French Open in September 2020 that Jeong Hyeon played in the singles match (dropped out). The French Open, which was held in May every year, was postponed to September because of Corona 19 that year. It has been seven months since the ATP Tour Seoul Open (semi-final) in September of last year, in which he teamed up with Kwon Soon-woo (26, Dangjin City Hall) to participate in doubles. At the time, Jeong-hyeon was scheduled to participate in the Seoul Open Challenger singles held the following week, but missed it due to a back injury.

Jeong Hyeon, who reached the semifinals at the 2018 Australian Open singles, the best ever for a Korean player, disappeared from the tour stage due to chronic back injuries. His father, Jeong Seok-jin (former vice president of the Korea Used Tennis Federation), said, “I am still in rehabilitation. (In this game) I think we will be testing the recent physical condition,” he explained the meaning. 안전놀이터

The ATP Challenger is an ATP Tour tournament in which top 100 players in the world compete. Thompson, Max Purcell (88th, Australia), and Christopher Eubanks (90th, USA) will participate in this competition.