Miami Open: Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong ‘enjoying every minute’ of history-making run at ATP event
- Wong to take on Laslo Djere in main draw on Thursday after becoming first player from city to reach that stage of ATP Masters 1000 event
- Players from mainland China are challenging in men’s and women’s competitions, but focus is mainly on rising stars Zheng Qinwen, Yuan Yue
Coleman Wong Chak-lam said he was enjoying every minute of his history-making run at the Miami Open, and hailed the win that got him into the main draw as “one of my best matches”.
The Hongkonger takes on Serbia’s Laslo Djere in the first round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament on Thursday, and his performance so far should lift him to world No 188, a career high, when the rankings are updated on Monday.
Wong’s appearance in the round of 128 is the first time a player from the city has reached the main draw of an ATP 1000 event, and the 19-year-old said he felt “so good, and so happy”.
“Although the weather in Miami is very hot, I can withstand it and hope to continue fighting in the next game without any regrets,” he added.
Wong was handed a wild-card spot for the tournament, and needed to come through two tough qualifiers, against Hugo Gaston and Sumit Nagal, both of whom are ranked inside the world top 100.
By climbing the world rankings, Wong also retains a slim chance of qualifying for the Paris Olympics this summer, and said his 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory over Nagal was “one of my best matches in recent months”.
“I’m really enjoying every match here in Miami … every victory has great significance,” Wong added. “I know that many Hong Kong fans follow my matches online, so I would like to thank them for their support.”
Should Wong overcome Djere, he will face former world No 8 and Olympic silver medallist, Russia’s Karen Khachanov, in the second round.
While Wong is Hong Kong’s sole representative at the Miami Open, several mainland Chinese athletes have already started their campaigns in the men’s and women’s tournaments.
Shang Juncheng, who beat Djere at the Hong Kong Open in January and is now ranked 124th, took down Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7, 6-4, 6-7.
But world No 49, Zhang Zhizhen, the only other China player to make it to the main draw of the men’s tournament, lost in straight sets to American Martin Damm Jnr 7-6, 7-6.
Most eyes, though, are on the rising stars of the women’s game, where world No 7 Zheng Qinwen will be hoping to become the first Chinese player to make it to the Miami Open final since Li Na lost to Serena Williams in 2014.
Zheng starts her tournament in the second round against seven-time women’s doubles Grand Slam champion Katerina Siniakova on Friday.
But compatriot Yuan Yue, who has also made a strong start to the year, will be looking to throw a spanner in the works when it comes to Zheng’s title dream.
Ranked 37 in the world, the 25-year-old has already beaten Russia’s Anna Blinkova in straight sets to set up a second-round tie against Greek Maria Sakkari.
Yuan beat Zheng, who is ranked No 1 in China, in straight sets in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, on her way to her best performance at a WTA 1000 tournament.
Just 11 days before, she beat Wang Xiyu, in a rare all-Chinese final, to claim her first WTA title at the ATX Open in Texas.
Yuan is 5-0 against Chinese athletes this year and has been dubbed “Derby Queen” by her fans.
Wang is also through to the second round, after seeing off Slovakia’s Anna Karolína Schmiedlova in straight sets, 6-1, 6-3. She faces Russian Anna Kalinskaya on Friday.
Elsewhere, Wang Xinyu, 22, and Zhu Lin, 30, beat their American opponents Hailey Baptiste and Czech Marie Bouzkova, respectively, to advance to the next round.
