Sports Briefs

TENNIS

Chung beats Medvedev 3-0 at the Australian Open

Chung Hyeon defeated Daniil Medvedev of Russia 3-0 in the round of 64 at the Australian Open on Thursday.

During the first set, Chung won 7-4. Then Chung took the lead in the second and third set to finish the match in less than two hours. Though Medvedev was well ahead in number of aces with 12, Chung led in return points at 44, while Medvedev only had 14. Having advanced to the round of 32 at the French Open in June 2017, Chung tied the record for his best finish in a major tournament with a win. By advancing to the third round, Chung has already secured himself a prize of at least 150,000 Australian dollars ($119,710).

If Chung advances to the round of 16, he will tie the record in the best finish by Koreans at the major tennis competition, which Lee Hyung-taik holds, by advancing to the round of 16 at the 2000 and 2007 U.S. Opens.

By Kang Yoo-rim

FOOTBALL

Two Ulsan Hyundai players to join European clubs

Korean pro football club Ulsan Hyundai said Thursday their two promising players will join European clubs this season on loan.

Ulsan, which finished fourth in the K League Classic last year, said midfielders Oh In-pyo and Hong Hyun-seok will be loaned out to European clubs this season. Ulsan said Oh has recently completed his contract with Austrian side LASK Linz, while Hong only has a medical test left to join third-tier German club SpVgg Unterhaching.

Oh, 20, is a product of Hyundai High School, Ulsan’s youth farm, and has 10 caps with the South Korean under-20 national team. Hong, 18, helped Hyundai High School win six tournaments last year.

Ulsan have been loaning out their prospects overseas so that they can have more experience in advanced football leagues. On Wednesday, Ulsan announced that defender Kim Hyun-woo and midfielder Kim Gyu-hyeong will play for Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb this year on loan.

Yonhap