来源：https://goo.gl/1J4uKb
作者：Dan Imhoff
How Chung moved the needle
郑炫如何带着韩国网球一起崛起?
Li Na stands tall as Asia’s original Grand Slam-winning trailblazer. Kei
Nishikori is still in the hunt.
李娜因为是亚洲大满贯冠军的先驱者，而地位崇高。锦织圭则还在角逐中。
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.
多年来，在这网球界成长最快速的地区，这两位是代表人物，带来无数商机和高度关注。
李娜一直是亚洲唯一的大满贯单打冠军。
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.
自从这位中国的球星退休后，锦织圭长时间独自扛起这个地区巨大的期待和蓬勃发展的市
场。
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.
纵使中国和日本有不少前100名的好手，没有任何人能达到李娜和锦织圭的高度。
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.
一位有着绝佳运动细胞和力量的韩国年轻人，他的腿壮如树干，有一个会露出牙套的别扭
笑容，而且总是带着一副白框眼镜，有机会扭转这一切。
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位的郑炫成为了第一位打进大满贯四强的选手，突然在家乡成为了大新闻。
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年当时21岁的Marat Safin之后，排名最低的澳网四强选手；自2010年Marin
Cilic之后，澳网最年轻的四强选手。
His victims on his run include No.4 seed Alexander Zverev and his idol,
six-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic.
晋级的路途中，他击败了Alexander Zverev，和他的偶像，六次澳网冠军的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.
在第四轮黑马击败塞尔维亚人的比赛，是韩国JTBC体育台，史上最多观看人次的大满贯比
赛，甚至是去年“费纳”决赛大战的四倍之多。
“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.
“不只是在韩国的球迷，而是整个国家都惊艳于他的表现，他吸引了很多人的目光。”南
韩的网球协会官员(Da Jung Hong)说。
“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.
“他进入准决赛的消息，侵占各大版面、头条和社群媒体。
“On the No.1 portal site in Korea, Naver, Hyeon Chung was No.1 ‘trending now
’ for a long time.”
“在韩国最大的入口搜寻网站，Naver，郑炫长时间排名第一。
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.
郑炫对于抢走了部分锦织圭的镁光灯泰然自若，这名28岁的好手在去年伤势频仍。
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.
就像这名日本的球星，郑炫最大的武器是他的双腿，帮助他在底线来回滑行，并转换到他
强而有力的击球上。
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.
韩国网球编辑Leo Seungwon Baek表示，或许郑炫对于他的新地位不以为意，他的家乡父
老们可不这么认为。
“Korea is really envious of the success of Nishikori,” Baek said. “Before
Chung, the greatest player was Hyung-taik Lee, and he’s retired.
“韩国其实很忌妒锦织圭的成功。在郑炫之前，最成功的球员是李亨泽，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)。但郑炫今年在澳网的成功突破，将打破此记录，成为韩国
史上最佳。我们对此欣喜若狂。
“I’ve heard that in Korea now he is as famous as [Olympic champions] ice
skater Yuna Kim and swimmer Tae-hwan Park.”
“我听说他现在在韩国的名声媲美溜冰选手金姸儿，和泳将朴泰桓。
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.
郑炫的成功并非突如其来，两年前他的排名曾冲上前50，但伤痛趋缓了排名继续上升。他
是2013年温布顿青少年组的单打亚军。
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.
他也不是韩国唯一成功的网球青年，现年19岁的李德熙，曾在青少年组最高排名第三，现
今也转换到成人组别，挑战更艰难的竞争。去年四月最高排名到第130位，这名青少年在
今年澳网第三轮败阵。但他最引人入胜的故事，是他其实是天生的聋子，只能听到些微振
福，并须依靠线审的手势才能知道判决。
In a nod to Korean tennis’s future, Chung defeated Lee in an ATP Challenger
final in Chinese Taipei at the end of 2016.
如韩国网坛的未来缩影，2016年末，郑炫在台北ATP Challenger决赛击败了李德熙。
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.
当李德熙排名滑落到第195位，他的高中同学权纯雨(Soonwoo Kwon)默默接下了韩国第二
的头衔。这名20岁的年轻人并没有得到和郑炫、李德熙一样的关注，直到他在中国珠海赢
得了澳网亚太区外卡赛(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.
当时他说他的梦想是能和Federer对打，这也差点发生，如果他的触女秀能打败
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.
出生在产出柿子更甚于产出网球选手的小村庄尚州市，权纯雨2017在挑战者级别
(Challenger level)的战绩是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.
韩国的网球协会官员(Da Jung Hong)说郑炫的突破只将更激励他的同胞战友们，这对韩国
的台维斯杯(Davis Cup)只有好处没有坏处。
“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.”
“显然郑炫的成功会对李德熙和权纯雨有非常好的影响，同时对于互相韩国国家队也有正
面帮助。
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韩国成为网球强国的潜力。
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.
还有两个17岁的少年Uising Park和Yeong-seok Jong，参加澳网少年单打组别，但皆于第
一轮遭受淘汰。
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.
并且，追随赵伦贞(Yoon-Jeong Cho，第45名，2003年)和Sung-Hee Park的脚步，15岁的
Sohyun Park是韩国女网的最大潜力股。
“She will be the best of the Korean women,” Baek said. “Last year she got
a wildcard into Roland Garros qualifying.
韩国网球编辑Leo Seungwon Baek表示，“她将是韩国女网的最佳选手，她在去年拿到法
网外卡资格。
“This is her first juniors main draw and she will play all junior slams this
year, while still attending high school.”
“这将是她的第一个少年组的大比赛，她今年会打所有少年组的大满贯，同时也还在读高
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.
网球在韩国正发展火热，在这个5千1百万人口的国家，在这势头前方的郑炫，一夜间成为
了家喻户晓的人物，这项运动在韩国的火热发展可还要持续好几年呢。