Chung pulls out of Sofia Open

Sofia : Chung Hyeon will miss next week’s Sofia Open after failing to recover from the foot injury that forced him to retire from his Australian Open semi-final against Roger Federer, organisers said yesterday.

The 21-year-old South Korean, who beat six-times champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth round at Melbourne Park, has climbed from 58th to 29th in the world, the highest ranking achieved by a Korean player.

Bulgarian world number four Grigor Dimitrov faces a race against time to get fit to defend his title in Sofia after shoulder pain and exhaustion prevented him from practising.