Coleman Wong Chak-lam advanced to the third round of the US Open on Thursday, expressing that he was “playing without any pressure,” despite achieving something no Hongkonger has ever accomplished.
The world No 173 continued his fairytale run at Flushing Meadows, serving up another upset to down Australian Adam Walton in four sets at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre.
Wong reeled off 21 aces and 54 winners in an impressive performance on Court 10, triumphing 7-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in three hours.
The first man from the city to reach the main draw of the men’s singles at a grand slam since the Open era began in 1968, he is now the first player from Hong Kong to reach the third round of a major.
Patricia Hy-Boulais, who was born in Cambodia and represented Hong Kong early in her career, reached the second round of the women’s singles at the Australian Open in 1987, before switching her allegiance to Canada.
“I’m swinging it, I’m feeling good,” Wong said. “This is my first main draw, first best of five, first everything. For me, for Hong Kong, for my team, everything is very new, so, no pressure.
“This is something that I dreamed of. For every tennis player, to keep going in a slam, it’s one of the biggest tournaments in the world. So, at the moment, I’m still digesting, I still need to calm down, but I’m really happy.”
It was another big scalp for Wong, who lost to Walton at the same stage of the Miami Open in March and is ranked nearly 100 places below the world No 85.
Still, the 21-year-old dispatched his rival in some style, recovering from dropping his serve in the first game and breaking back for 5-5 as Walton served for the opening set, before going on to win the tiebreak.
He raced through the second set and though he dropped the third, two more breaks of serve in the fourth set up victory.
“Adam [Walton] is a tough competitor and what a great battle,” Wong said. “I lost to him a few months ago, I beat him in our last meeting, it’s a very 50-50 match. I could win, I could lose, and I came out on top today.”
Up next for Wong, who trains at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, is Russian 15th seed Andrey Rublev. The pair are no strangers, having faced each other in doubles at the Hong Kong Open.
And while he will go into his third game of the main draw as the underdog, Wong said taking on the likes of Rublev, who “just kills the ball”, was what excited him most about being in the third round.
“For me, I just want to go out there, enjoy, and I’m in the third round of the US Open, so I don’t need to think so much,” Wong said. “I just want to go out, enjoy the atmosphere, feel the vibe and...stay as long as I can, because this is tough. Everyone is so good, everyone is so tough to play, so this means a lot to me.”
