Milan: South Korean iceman Chung Hyeon doused the fire of Russian Andrey Rublev as he came from behind to clinch the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals here Saturday thus pocketing a $390,000 cheque in the process.
The 21-year-old thus becomes the first South Korean to win an ATP singles trophy since Hyung Taik-lee captured the 2003 Sydney title by beating Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Chung who was outplayed in the first set and was 3-1 down in the second set came back strongly as he took over to win 3-4(5) 4-3(2) 4-2 4-2 to go through unbeaten in the five-day round-robin tournament.
The 20-year-old Rublev ranked 37th in the world is the highest-ranked qualifier for the event lost his cool as the relentless Chung turned the match around.
The 54th-ranked Chung showed his first sign of nerves when he double-faulted at 30-30 in the next game but Rublev wasted the break point with a shanked forehand.
At deuce Rublev still had the chance to drag the set into a tiebreak but Chung struck a forehand winner to seal victory in just under two hours of compelling action.
Rublev, who began his ATP Tour title collection in Umag this year, looked close to tears at the end suggested that both will be challenging for some of the biggest prizes in the sport in future.
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