Novak Djokovic has led the universal praise for Korean young gun Hyeon Chung, predicting a huge future for the tennis sensation.
The 21-year-old Chung stunned the tennis world with a 7-6 (7-4) 7-5 7-6 (7-3) win against six-time champion on Monday night at the Australian Open.
Chung, who also toppled fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the third round, bore an uncanny resemblance to his childhood idol with his speed, athleticism and freakish retrieval skills.
While Djokovic wasn't at his supreme best - struggling with a recurrence of his troublesome elbow injury - Chung's performance could not be understated.
"I cannot believe what I'm seeing," Courier said on the Seven Network.
"I cannot believe how good this kid is."
Djokovic himself led the flood of tributes to Chung on social media after the match.
Chung will face world No.97 Tennys Sandgren in the quarter-finals on Wednesday after the aptly-named American's shock defeat of Austrian fifth seed Dominic Thiem.
That was an incredible performance #Chung! Keep up great work. You’ve got this! 👏 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/GjCwmnhXOd — Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 22, 2018
Amazing performance by Hyeon Chung. So calm, so quick, so good. Two great stories with Sandgren and Chung to play for a spot in the semi's. Looking forward to it already! — Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) January 22, 2018
Huge congratulations to #Chung on defeating six time champion #Djokovic. Stayed so cool and in the zone to play truly outstanding tennis. Absolutely stunning performance 🔥. #AusOpen — Pat Cash (@TheRealPatCash) January 22, 2018
That’s was an outstanding combination of athleticism and ball striking on a big stage against an all time great , 👏 #chung @AustralianOpen — roger rasheed (@roger_rasheed) January 22, 2018
Chung's win was by far the biggest of his blossoming career, made even sweeter by the fact it came against the man he's modelled his game on.
"When I was young I'm just trying to copy Novak because he's my idol," said the world No.58.
"I can't believe this tonight, dreams come true tonight."
Djokovic showed plenty of resilience to push through his obvious injury but appeared unable to fully stretch his arm without pain.
Coming off a six-month layoff, the longest of his career, Djokovic's health had been questioned throughout the tournament and his troublesome right elbow appeared far from healed.
Djokovic met his match in Chung. Pic: Getty More
Again wearing a full compression sleeve on his arm, Djokovic sent down four straight double-faults in falling to a 4-0 deficit in the opening set.
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The 12-time grand slam winner fought back to force a tiebreak but was clearly in pain when at full stretch and called for the trainer in between sets.
Speaking after the match, the 14th-seeded Serb admitted he was unsure whether he would need more time away from the game.
"I really don't know," Djokovic said.
Djokovic's troublesome elbow was playing up again. Pic: Getty More
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