Chung vs. Federer odds & best bets – Australian Open semis

HYEON Chung entered the 2018 Australian Open ranked 58 in the world.

He will leave Melbourne Park as a top-30 player regardless of how he fares on Friday night.

The 21-year-old Korean’s list of victims makes for impressive reading.

Mischa Zverev reached the quarters here last year and Daniil Medvedev won the Sydney International lead-up event.

Alexander Zverev is ranked four in the world and Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open more times than any other man.

By comparison, a quarter-final clash with Tennys Sandgren must have seemed like a walk in the park to Chung.

Now he has the chance to slay the giant of all giants.

Roger Federer’s title defence looked in jeopardy when Tomas Berdych took a 5-2 lead in the first set on Wednesday night.

The Swiss master ended up winning 7-6 6-3 6-4.

That’s the first time we have seen Federer really shift the gears in this tournament.

The 36-year-old has cruised into the semis without dropping a single set.

Could we see a repeat of his perfect performance at Wimbledon last year?

Market news and bonus offers

Online bookmakers are offering squat on Federer, but there is plenty of variance on the other side of the market.

Chung’s match odds are all over the shop, ranging from as little as +400 (TAB) to as great as +500 (Unibet).

Those considering a cheeky flutter on the outsider should keep an eye out for fluctuations late on Friday afternoon.

No matter who you are backing, Sportsbet.com.au has you covered with early payouts on any player who leads 2-0 in the set count.

Federer is a strong option for William Hill’s Chase the Ace bonus, where you can score all sorts of rewards for every ace for your player hits.

Hyeon Chung odds and specials

• +2.5 set handicap – -125 at Sportsbet
• Under 16.5 games won – -123.46 at CrownBet

Chung’s defensive game might be the best in the business right now.

Not only does he retrieve balls that nobody else can, he sends them back with venom.

To have any chance of winning, Chung must keep forcing Federer to play one more shot than he wants to.

He will also have to take maximum advantage of the second serve whenever he has the opportunity.

Chung’s fortunes could hinge on his own serve – the one discernible weak point in his game right now.

Best bets for Roger Federer

• Federer win/under 36.5 games – +120 at CrownBet
• Federer 3-0 set score – +105 at CrownBet

The stats from the quarters show exactly how Federer will win this.

Federer won 83 percent of his first serves and hit 61 winners against Berdych.

Those are big numbers compared to Chung’s 70 percent and 29 winners against Sandgren.

The Korean is an altogether different kind of player who will make Federer work much harder for clean winners.

However, it seems inevitable that the great man’s class and experience will shine through in the end.