Coleman Wong ‘really enjoying’ playing tennis for Hongkongers around the world

Coleman Wong Chak-lam said he is “really enjoying” playing tennis after beating Spain’s Pablo Llamas Ruiz 7-6, 6-0 in the second round of the Australian Open qualifying on Wednesday.

The 21-year-old has enjoyed a solid start to the year, reaching the singles quarter-finals and doubles semi-finals at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open last week, both personal bests on the ATP Tour, and now he is one win away from making the main draw at the Australian Open.

In his win over Ruiz, the Hong Kong player hit 34 winning shots, served 12 aces and committed just 11 unforced errors at Melbourne Park’s ANZ Arena.

Winning the first set after a 9-7 tiebreak in 51 minutes, Wong stepped up a gear in the second set, disposing of Ruiz 6-0 in only 25 minutes.

Wong admitted that it was difficult for him to reach such a high level in the sport, saying “it’s not easy” for Hongkongers to become top-level athletes because the city is such a small place, but you have to “just keep believing”.

“I’m just a little kid that really wants to play some good tennis and I really enjoy playing in front of a lot of people, in front of all the Hong Kong people across the world,” he said.

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