HONG KONG, December 31, 2024 (Press Release)
Hong Kong No. 1 Coleman Wong Chak-lam saw his Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open campaign come to an early end after a hard-fought first round match against a stubborn Shang Juncheng.
The match was delicately balanced until a couple of loose shots from Wong in the middle of the tie-break gave the world no. 50 an opportunity to take the set. An early break in the second set was all that Shang needed to secure a 7-6 (3), 6-4 win. Shang will play Spaniard Pedro Martinez who enjoyed a comfortable 6-4, 6-4 win against Francesco Passaro.
Under the lights on New Year’s Eve at Victoria Park, Jerry secured an absorbing 7-6(3) 6-4 triumph over local prospect Coleman to launch his #BOCHTO2025 title bid.
Read more match highlights here: https://t.co/p8exVgrDCZ#BOCHKTO #ATP#HKCTA #HKTS#ConnectEveryExcitement… pic.twitter.com/9FaxNNxKat
— Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open (@Hkto_mens) December 31, 2024
“Me and Coleman go way back to 11, 12 years old playing juniors together. Seeing him on the biggest stage with me here, in front of his home crowd, I’m really honoured,” said the world No. 50 who reached the semi-finals here last year.
“It’s great to be back in Hong Kong, it’s such a beautiful place, such a beautiful city. It’s a special place for me. 2024 started and ended here for me, and I have enjoyed every moment so far on these courts,” added Shang.
Wong returned the respect, saying: “I really enjoyed this match. We both played well, and I feel I executed pretty well in all areas. Although I really wanted to win, I tried my best, so I have no regrets. For 2025, I want to play more professional tournaments. The match today shows me that the distance between No.50 in the world and me is not that big. I have the ability to play to that level and my target is to be ranked inside the top 100.”
In a special moment ahead of the match between Hong Kong’s top player and one of mainland China’s rising stars in Shang, tennis legend Michael Chang – a three-time Hong Kong Open champion, the youngest player to ever win a Grand Slam and a pioneer of Asian professional tennis who is attending the tournament as a special guest of the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association – performed the coin toss ahead of the match.
Earlier in the day, another rising star of Chinese men’s tennis Bu Yunchaokete lost in a tantalisingly close three-set match against No. 5 seed Nuno Borges.
The 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) score line reflected the closeness of the match with the Chinese No. 3 coming to within two points of victory.
Two men on the comeback trail also clashed on Centre Court today as Kei Nishikori took on Denis Shapovalov. The Japanese 2014 US Open Men’s Singles Runner-up overcame the visibly unwell Canadian who withdrew from his doubles match the day prior, 6-2, 6-3, to book a last 16 place against the tournament’s No.3 seed Karen Khachanov.
Other matches tomorrow see Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie take on Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego and Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic versus Alexandre Muller of France both at 13.00, followed by Wild Card entry Zizou Bergs of Belgium’s match against tournament 4th seed Arthur Fils.
Next Gen Finals runner-up Learner Tien of the USA will team up with Belgium’s Zizou Bergs to face Luciano Darderi of Italy and Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie in a doubles first round encounter as the last match on Centre Court tomorrow (1 Jan.).
