Hyeon Chung broke a number of records in the course of his 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 win over Novak Djokovic in the fourth round of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Monday. He became the first Korean, man or woman, to reach a major quarterfinal in tennis history. The victory also took him into a select club of Asian men to have reached the last eight, or better, at any of the four Grand Slams in the Open era.
1. Vijay Amritraj (India) - Wimbledon (1973, 1981), US Open (1973, 1974)
The quarterfinal run: Amritraj made the quarterfinals at a major for the first time during Wimbledon in 1973, beating future British number one and Australian Open finalist John Lloyd in five sets in the third round. Amritraj's quarterfinal opponent was second-seeded Czech Jan Kodes, and the Indian picked up two sets after losing the first 4-6. Kodes fought back to win the last two sets and went on to win Wimbledon for the first time, his third and last Slam.
The story after: Amritraj enjoyed one of the better singles careers for an Indian man in the Open era, reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open in 1973 and 1974, before reaching the last eight again at SW19 in 1981. He was beaten by Australian Ken Rosewall at both US Open quarters, while his next Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance began with a two-sets lead against third seed Jimmy Connors, before the American prevailed in five sets.
2. Ramesh Krishnan (India) - US Open (1981, 1987), Wimbledon (1986)
The quarterfinal run: Krishnan, whose father Ramanathan made the semi-finals of Wimbledon before the Open era, knocked former Wimbledon and US Open champion Stan Smith out of the 1981 US Open before going on to meet two-time reigning champion and top seed John McEnroe in the last eight. Krishnan picked up the first set in a tie-break, before McEnroe prevailed in four sets en route to his third successive US Open crown.
The story after: Easily the last Indian with a good singles record at Slams, Krishnan made the quarterfinals at both the 1986 Wimbledon and the US Open a year later. He took Slobodan 'Bobo' Zivojinovic to four seats at Wimbledon and lost to Stefan Edberg at the US Open. Krishnan's last hurrah was with the Davis Cup team for India, whom he took to the semi-finals in 1993.
3. Shuzo Matsuoka (Japan) - Wimbledon (1995)
The quarterfinal run: The first Japanese player to have won a singles title on the ATP Tour in 1992, Matsuoka's run to the last eight at Wimbledon in 1995 should have come as no surprise considering a runners-up finish at Queen's club three years prior to that. Matsuoka benefited from a relatively easy draw, where the only seeded player in his half before the quarterfinal, 10th seed Marc Rosset of Switzerland, was knocked out in the first round. Nonetheless, Matsuoka's victims included experienced players like Karel Novacek and Mark Knowles, before he came up against Pete Sampras, second seed and champion across the previous two years.
The story after: Matsuoka took Sampras to a tie-break in the opening set, nicked it 7-5 in his favour, before Sampras won three sets in a row (dropping just nine games). Sampras would go on to win his third consecutive Wimbledon that year, while Matsuoka, who achieved a career-high ranking of 46, never crossed the second round at any other Slam appearance.
4. Yen-Hsun Lu (Taiwan) - Wimbledon (2010)
The quarterfinal run: Lu, ranked as high as third in junior tennis at the age of 17, was world number 82 going into the 2010 Wimbledon, where he became the first Asian man since Matsuoka to make the quarters at a major, and the first from his country. After three unseeded opponents to start his campaign with, he ran into fifth seed Andy Roddick in the fourth round, and dropped the first set 4-6. The next three sets were decided on tie-breaks. Lu prevailed in two of them, before taking the fifth set 9-7. The match, which lasted four hours and 36 minutes, was named the biggest upset of the year by ATP.
The story after: Left as the only unseeded player in the last eight, Lu ran into Novak Djokovic in the quarters, losing in straight sets. It would be the only ever time he made it past the third round at a major, though his form in 2010 saw him reach a career-high singles ranking of 33 that November.
5. Kei Nishikori (Japan) - Australian Open (2012, 2015, 2016), French Open (2015, 2017), US Open (2014)
The quarterfinal run: Nishikori had already served notice of his talent with the ATP Newcomer of the Year award in 2008, the first for an Asian, before the Australian Open in 2012. Ranked 24th, Nishikori beat unseeded opponents in his first three matches before meeting sixth-seed Jo-Wilfriend Tsonga in the fourth round. Nishikori won in five sets, becoming the first Japanese man to reach the Australian Open quarters since Ryosuki Nunoi and Jiro Satoh achieved the feat together in 1932 -- when the championships were hosted in Adelaide.
The story after: Beaten in straight sets by fourth-seed Andy Murray in his maiden major quarterfinal, Nishikori has since been to the last eight five more times, and nearly made it all the way at the 2014 US Open, before losing to Marin Cilic of Croatia in the final. Nishikori's most-recent quarterfinal was also against Murray, at Roland Garros last year. It ended in a four-sets defeat.