來源：https://goo.gl/1J4uKb
作者：Dan Imhoff
How Chung moved the needle
鄭炫如何帶著韓國網球一起崛起?
Li Na stands tall as Asia’s original Grand Slam-winning trailblazer. Kei
Nishikori is still in the hunt.
李娜因為是亞洲大滿貫冠軍的先驅者，而地位崇高。錦織圭則還在角逐中。
For years, the pair have been flag-bearers for tennis across the sport’s
fastest-growing region, and while translating into heightened interest and
big bucks, there is no hiding the fact Li remains Asia’s sole Grand Slam
singles champion.
多年來，在這網球界成長最快速的地區，這兩位是代表人物，帶來無數商機和高度關注。
李娜一直是亞洲唯一的大滿貫單打冠軍。
Since the Chinese star’s retirement, Japan’s Nishikori has had a lonely
time of it carrying those enormous expectations from such an expectant and
emerging geographical market.
自從這位中國的球星退休後，錦織圭長時間獨自扛起這個地區巨大的期待和蓬勃發展的市
場。
While China and Japan have had a steady sprinkling of top-100 players, none
has come close to emulating either Li’s or Nishikori’s achievements.
縱使中國和日本有不少前100名的好手，沒有任何人能達到李娜和錦織圭的高度。
An athletic and powerful South Korean youngster – his legs like tree trunks,
a wry smile that reveals braces and always wearing his signature white
glasses – could be about to change all that.
一位有著絕佳運動細胞和力量的南韓年輕人，他的腿壯如樹幹，有一個會露出牙套的彆扭
笑容，而且總是帶著一副白框眼鏡，有機會扭轉這一切。
World No.58 Hyeon Chung is suddenly huge news back home as the first Korean
to reach a Grand Slam semifinal.
世界排名第58位的鄭炫成為了第一位打進大滿貫四強的選手，突然在家鄉成為了大新聞。
He is the lowest-ranked man to reach the last four at the Australian Open
since Marat Safin in 2004 and at 21, the youngest to reach the semifinals at
a major since Marin Cilic at Melbourne Park in 2010.
他是自2004年當時21歲的Marat Safin之後，排名最低的澳網四強選手；自2010年Marin
Cilic之後，澳網最年輕的四強選手。
His victims on his run include No.4 seed Alexander Zverev and his idol,
six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
晉級的路途中，他擊敗了Alexander Zverev，和他的偶像，六次澳網冠軍的Novak
Djokovic
That fourth-round upset of the Serb was the most watched Grand Slam match in
history on South Korea’s JTBC Sports, four times bigger than last year’s
Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal Australian Open final telecast.
在第四輪黑馬擊敗塞爾維亞人的比賽，是南韓JTBC體育台，史上最多觀看人次的大滿貫比
賽，甚至是去年「費納」決賽大戰的四倍之多。
“Not only for tennis fans in Korea, but the whole nation was amazed at his
performance and it brought him to the attention of many people,” Korea
Tennis Association official Da Jung Hong said.
「不只是在韓國的球迷，而是整個國家都驚艷於他的表現，他吸引了很多人的目光。」南
韓的網球協會官員(Da Jung Hong)說。
“His result, reaching the quarterfinals, hit the headlines in all the major
medias in Korea, and the SNS [social media] was full of his performance.
「他進入準決賽的消息，侵占各大版面、頭條和社群媒體。
“On the No.1 portal site in Korea, Naver, Hyeon Chung was No.1 ‘trending now
’ for a long time.”
「在韓國最大的入口搜尋網站，Naver，鄭炫長時間排名第一。
Chung is perfectly poised to steal some of the spotlight from the 28-year-old
Nishikori, a player whose injury struggles have mounted in the past year.
鄭炫對於搶走了部分錦織圭的鎂光燈泰然自若，這名28歲的好手在去年傷勢頻仍。
Much like the Japanese star, his greatest weapon is his legs, helping him
slide and scramble about the baseline and pivotal to his enormous power off
the ground.
就像這名日本的球星，鄭炫最大的武器是他的雙腿，幫助他在底線來回滑行，並轉換到他
強而有力的擊球上。
Tennis Korea editor Leo Seungwon Baek said while Chung may be somewhat
oblivious to his newfound status, there would be no hiding from it back home.
南韓網球編輯Leo Seungwon Baek表示，或許鄭炫對於他的新地位不以為意，他的家鄉父
老們可不這麼認為。
“Korea is really envious of the success of Nishikori,” Baek said. “Before
Chung, the greatest player was Hyung-taik Lee, and he’s retired.
「韓國其實很忌妒錦織圭的成功。在鄭炫之前，最成功的球員是李亨澤，但他已退休。
“His highest ranking was 36 [in 2007]. From Chung’s Australian Open
success, he broke the record as the new best Korean. We are really happy with
that.
「他最高的排名是36(2007年)。但鄭炫今年在澳網的成功突破，將打破此記錄，成為韓國
史上最佳。我們對此欣喜若狂。
“I’ve heard that in Korea now he is as famous as [Olympic champions] ice
skater Yuna Kim and swimmer Tae-hwan Park.”
「我聽說他現在在韓國的名聲媲美溜冰選手金姸兒，和泳將朴泰桓。
Chung’s rise is not all together sudden. Two years ago he stood on the cusp
of the top 50 before injuries scuttled his progression. He was a runner-up in
the 2013 Wimbledon boys’ singles final.
鄭炫的成功並非突如其來，兩年前他的排名曾衝上前50，但傷痛趨緩了排名繼續上升。他
是2013年溫布頓青少年組的單打亞軍。
And he was not the only top Korean junior making an impact at the time.
Duckhee Lee, now aged 19, was ranked as high as No.3 in the junior rankings,
but has found the transition to the tour a tougher hurdle. Ranked as high as
No.130 last April, the teenager fell in the third round of qualifying at this
year’s Australian Open. What makes Lee’s story all the more remarkable is
the fact he was born deaf, having to hear vibrations and rely on hand
gestures to determine line calls.
他也不是韓國唯一成功的網球青年，現年19歲的李德熙，曾在青少年組最高排名第三，現
今也轉換到成人組別，挑戰更艱難的競爭。去年四月最高排名到第130位，這名青少年在
今年澳網第三輪敗陣。但他最引人入勝的故事，是他其實是天生的聾子，只能聽到些微振
福，並須依靠線審的手勢才能知道判決。
In a nod to Korean tennis’s future, Chung defeated Lee in an ATP Challenger
final in Chinese Taipei at the end of 2016.
如韓國網壇的未來縮影，2016年末，鄭炫在台北ATP Challenger決賽擊敗了李德熙。
With Lee having dropped back to No.195, it is his high school friend Soonwoo
Kwon who has quietly assumed the mantle as second-best Korean. The
20-year-old had not garnered the same level of attention as either Chung or
Lee until he won the Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff in Zhuhai,
China in December.
當李德熙排名滑落到第195位，他的高中同學權純雨(Soonwoo Kwon)默默接下了韓國第二
的頭銜。這名20歲的年輕人並沒有得到和鄭炫、李德熙一樣的關注，直到他在中國珠海贏
得了澳網亞太區外卡賽(Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Playoff)
At the time, he said his dream was to play Federer in the opening round. It
very nearly eventuated. Had he beaten German Jen-Lennard Struff on debut he
would have earned that honour.
當時他說他的夢想是能和Federer對打，這也差點發生，如果他的觸女秀能打敗
Jen-Lennard Struff。
Born in the small town of Sangju – more famous for producing dried
persimmons than tennis players – Kwon finished 2017 with a 27-17 record at
Challenger level.
出生在產出柿子更甚於產出網球選手的小村莊尚州市，權純雨2017在挑戰者級別
(Challenger level)的戰績是27-17。
Hong said Chung’s breakthrough would only serve to motivate his compatriots,
which can only be a good thing for the Korea Davis Cup team.
南韓的網球協會官員(Da Jung Hong)說鄭炫的突破只將更激勵他的同胞戰友們，這對韓國
的台維斯盃(Davis Cup)只有好處沒有壞處。
“It seems like Chung's success will have a great influence both on Duckhee
Lee and Soonwoo Kwon,” Hong said. “At the same time, it is expected to have
a positive impact on each other preparing for the Davis Cup as Korea national
team.”
「顯然鄭炫的成功會對李德熙和權純雨有非常好的影響，同時對於互相韓國國家隊也有正
面幫助。
A handful of rising juniors add further depth to Korea’s potential to become
a tennis powerhouse.
很多的崛起新秀增加韓國成為網球強國的潛力。
A pair of 17-year-olds, No.4 seed Uising Park and Yeong-seok Jong, featured
in the Australian Open junior boys’ singles, however both failed to progress
beyond the first round.
還有兩個17歲的少年Uising Park和Yeong-seok Jong，參加澳網少年單打組別，但皆於第
一輪遭受淘汰。
And following in the footsteps of Yoon-Jeong Cho (No.45 in 2003) and Sung-Hee
Park (No.57 in 1995), Baek said 15-year-old Sohyun Park was flying the flag
as the best of the female Korean prospects.
並且，追隨趙倫貞(Yoon-Jeong Cho，第45名，2003年)和Sung-Hee Park的腳步，15歲的
Sohyun Park是韓國女網的最大潛力股。
“She will be the best of the Korean women,” Baek said. “Last year she got
a wildcard into Roland Garros qualifying.
南韓網球編輯Leo Seungwon Baek表示，「她將是韓國女網的最佳選手，她在去年拿到法
網外卡資格。
“This is her first juniors main draw and she will play all junior slams this
year, while still attending high school.”
「這將是她的第一個少年組的大比賽，她今年會打所有少年組的大滿貫，同時也還在讀高
中。」
Tennis is “trending now” in South Korea. In a nation of 51 million people,
the flow-on effect of Chung becoming a household name almost overnight is
sure to see the sport trending for years to come.
網球在南韓正發展火熱，在這個5千1百萬人口的國家，在這勢頭前方的鄭炫，一夜間成為
了家喻戶曉的人物，這項運動在韓國的火熱發展可還要持續好幾年呢。