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Lars Hamer

Hong Kong tennis player Maggie Ng Man-ying came close to pulling off a huge upset in the first qualifying round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Saturday, before bowing out 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Lu Jiajing, who is ranked more than 1,000 places above her.
Wild card Ng was up 4-1 in the final set after securing an early break, but could only watch as Lu turned the tie on its head, winning the match on centre court at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium in two hours and one minute.
Ng usually plays on the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour, the third tier of professional tennis, and is ranked world No 1,412, compared to Lu’s 350.
“Because she has such a higher ranking than me, in the beginning, I didn’t have much pressure,” Ng said. “The first set and the third set, I was leading so much, but she could find the rhythm back and changed a little bit.
“Also, in the third set, the rallies were so much longer; I felt like my fitness level wasn’t good enough to finish the match.”

Ng stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first set, and while the 29-year-old played some strong tennis, hitting testing cross-court shots that frequently sent Lu sprawling left and right, the Hongkonger was helped by her opponent’s poor first serve and failure to convert two out of three break points.
Lu held serve for the first time in the sixth game, and then broke to bring the opening set to 5-2. Although Ng secured her third break to win the set, Lu had the momentum and won four games in a row to bring the match level.
The deciding moment came when Ng was up a break and leading 4-2 overall in the final set.
Under the sweltering midday sun, both players were visibly and audibly tired, as the grunts between hits became louder and louder.
The Hongkonger just needed to go with serve to win the tie, but Lu forced a staggering seven break points in one game before Ng finally succumbed.
And from that moment, Lu did not look back, as she won the next three games in a row to progress to the second qualifying round, which starts on Sunday.
Centre court’s third match of the day saw another Hong Kong wild card, world No 1,024 Kallista Liu, lose 7-6, 6-4 to Japan’s Haruka Kaji, ranked 252.
Although Liu was unable to push Kaji as far as Ng did Lu, the 21-year-old recovered from going down a break in the opening game to force a first-set tiebreak.
She also broke Kaji to go 2-1 up in the second set, before the experienced Japanese put her foot on the gas and won the match.
In the first round draw, the tournament’s No 1 seed, Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, was placed in the same half as American Sofia Kenin, who she beat in the semi-final of the Japan Open on Saturday.
The pick of the first round matches will see Filipino star and world No 53 Alexandra Eala face Britain’s world No 63, Katie Boulter.
Hong Kong’s Eudice Chong and Cody Wong Hong-yi were given first-round wild cards. Chong has been drawn against Dutch player Suzan Lamens, while Wong will face a yet-to-be-decided qualifier.
The first round will be played on Monday and Tuesday.


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Maggie Ng came close to pulling off a huge upset in the Prudential Hong Kong Open. Photo: Dickson Lee

Lu Jiajing hits a return to Maggie Ng during their qualifier at Victoria Park. Photo: Dickson Lee

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Hong Kong

Tennis

Maggie Ng on verge of victory against player ranked 1,000 spots above her, but China’s Lu Jiajing regains control at death


Maggie Ng on verge of victory against player ranked 1,000 spots above her, but China’s Lu Jiajing regains control at death.


Prudential Hong Kong Open: wild card Ng within moments of shock win in qualifiers

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Maggie Ng on verge of victory against player ranked 1,000 spots above her, but China’s Lu Jiajing regains control at death

Maggie Ng on verge of victory against player ranked 1,000 spots above her, but China’s Lu Jiajing regains control at death