Coleman Wong Chak-lam said he would not have chosen anywhere else to reach his first ATP Tour quarter-final after beating world No 40 Gabriel Diallo in the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open on Wednesday.
The Hongkonger showed plenty of character to recover from a poor first set and win 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 to book a last-eight clash with No 1 seed Lorenzo Musetti on Friday.
It will be the world No 150’s first trip to the latter stages of an ATP event and he said he would “keep going and keep dreaming” after just his third career victory over a top-50 ranked opponent.
A home crowd wrapped up against the chill on Victoria Park Tennis Stadium were kept quiet during an opening set that Diallo dominated. Wong fended off three break points in the second game, but could not repeat the feat a fourth time. He showed the briefest flash of temper after he dropped serve again to trail 5-1.
“The first set was so fast I felt I was going to be out within one hour,” Wong said. “I was really happy I could adjust my level and compete and fight.”
The towering Diallo was not broken in his first-round win over Jesper de Jong, but Wong sourced joy against the Canadian’s serve after claiming three straight points from 40-30 down in the sixth game of the second set to move 4-2 in front.
