South Korean Tennis Player Chung Hyeon Loses To Novak Djokovic At The 2016 Australian Open

Korean Hyeon Chung said it was "a great a honor" for him to play against the world's number one-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic on Monday. The South Korean tennis star was defeated by Djokovic in a 0-3 contest at the 2016 Australian Open, Korea Times noted Monday.

"He's number one in the world. He's my idol," Chung told AFP. "It was a good experience to play with him."

He added, "I was just trying to fight for every point, because it's too tough to win a game. Great experience. Great test to start the season."

Meanwhile, Djokovic said big opportunities await the South Korean tennis player.

 "Chung is only 19, he's tall and he plays well from the back of the court and he has a big future," he said. "He obviously needs more experience but he's got a game to be at the top."

Djokovic continued, "It's an absolute pleasure to come back to Rod Laver Arena, I've had good success over my career here and have many memorable moments in the matches I've played here."

The Serbian tennis player recently defeated Rafael Nadal in the Qatar Open final.

"The opening week of the year in Doha went extremely well for me," Djokovic said, as noted by IB Times Monday. "I've been preparing well, taking some time to really work on certain things, get a good foundation, good base for the long season."

"2015 was the best season and best year of my life undoubtedly. I enjoyed every moment spent on the court."

"I'll try to obviously carry that confidence and high level of performance that I've had, especially towards the end of the year, into the new season. I'm here to start from the very beginning, to start from scratch, and see where it takes me," he added.

On the other hand, Chung was the recipient of the Eddie Herr International and Junior Orange Bowl Boys under-12s titles in 2008. He turned pro in 2014 when he won three Futures tournaments and the 2014 Bangkok Open.