Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong opens clay-court season with first-round loss at Houston Open

Hong Kong tennis star Coleman Wong Chak-lam suffered a straight-sets defeat to American Alex Michelsen in the first round of the ATP Houston Open on Wednesday, marking a tough start to his clay-court season.

The 21-year-old, who had just collected his fourth award at the Cathay 2025 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards ceremony on Tuesday, faced a steep challenge against world No 35 Michelsen, who sits 89 places above him in the rankings.

Wong, currently No 124, fell 6-4, 6-2 to the seventh seed in 85 minutes.

The two had never faced each other before.

Despite firing five aces – two more than his opponent – Wong was undone by 33 unforced errors, almost double Michelsen’s 18. He also failed to convert any of his three breakpoint opportunities before Michelsen tightened his grip in the second.

The result gave Michelsen his first win on clay this season.

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