13th seed Shelton edged out in Miami by Wong who went “full commitment one side”
Chak Lam Coleman Wong edged out Ben Shelton 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-6 (5) on Saturday and will face Australian lucky loser Adam Walton in the next round
Wildcard Chak Lam Coleman Wong edged out American Ben Shelton, the No 13 seed, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 7-6 (5) to advance to the third round of the Miami Masters at the Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday.
This win was Coleman Wong’s first against the top 20 and also the biggest by a player from Hong Kong since the ATP began publishing the rankings.
“It’s been a crazy three hours,” the world No 182 told Tennis Channel after the match. “I need to calm down a little bit. Actually, I was just thinking ‘Okay it’s just penalty time!’ I was going full commitment one side… if he serves ace… okay! And then I will see tiebreak… let’s see how is it in the tiebreak. And then I was down 0-3 first set and I was like… ‘Okay… is this working?’ And then slowly, I found a way to sense where to return some balls.
“I literally just watched him [Ben Shelton] yesterday like he’s always on the ground, he’s always on the shows and I just want to be like him. He’s so cool. He has his own style. And, I have my style but yeah he talked to me [at the net] and said a really great match.”
It was Shelton’s first loss in his opening round in a Masters or Slam tournament since the start of 2024. He saved two match points on his own serve.
Back in Hong Kong, there’s not many people playing tennis.”
Chak Lam Coleman Wong
Coleman Wong takes pride in representing Hong Kong and inspiring kids back home to take up tennis drives him.
“It feels unreal because I came here actually like confidence not really high. I’ve been doing first rounds, second rounds and then slowly getting the momentum building because we knew that we’re going to get the wildcard for qualies first and then I got in with my ranking. I really like to thank IMG to give me a chance to play in the main draw.
“From Hong Kong, it’s a big motivation for me because back in Hong Kong, there’s not many people playing tennis. I want to be the one that inspires them. I’m really happy when parents and kids come here and said, ‘I play tennis because of you.’ I get really emotional.”
Wong, ranked No 182, will play Australian lucky loser Adam Walton next.
Chak Lam Coleman Wong won against German Daniel Altmaier (6-4, 6-3) in the previous round of the Miami Open.
Miami Masters 1000, other second-round results (Hard Rock Stadium, hard, USD 9.193.540, most recent results first):
- Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Frances Tiafoe
- Alex De Minaur vs. Yunchaokete Bu
- Arthur Fils vs. Gabriel Diallo
- Zizou Bergs vs. Andrey Rublev
- Matteo Berrettini vs. Hugo Gaston
- Joao Fonseca vs. Ugo Humbert
- Jakub Mensik vs. Jack Draper
- Alexei Popyrin vs. Roman Safiullin
- Holger Rune vs. Reilly Opelka
- Thiago Agustin Tirante vs. Denis Shapovalov
- Jordan Thompson vs. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
- Matteo Arnaldi vs. Tomas Machac
- Taylor Fritz vs. Lorenzo Sonego
- Alexander Zverev (1) beat Jacob Fearnley (Q): 6-2, 6-4
- Adam Walton beat Luciano Darderi: 6-4, 6-4
- David Goffin beat Carlos Alcaraz (2): 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
- Francisco Cerundolo (23) beat Alexandre Muller: 6-1, 6-2
- Tommy Paul (12) beat Alexander Bublik: 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
- Sebastian Korda (24) beat Eliot Spizzirri (WC): 6-4, 6-2
- Brandon Nakashima (31) beat Roberto Carballes Baena: 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
- Alejandro Tabilo (30) beat Corentin Moutet: 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
- Novak Djokovic (4) beat Rinky Hijikata: 6-0, 7-6 (1)
- Gael Monfils beat Jiri Lehecka (26): 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (8)
- Stefanos Tsitsipas (9) beat Chun-Hsin Tseng (Q): 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
- Jaume Munar beat Daniil Medvedev (7): 6-2, 6-3
- Camilo Ugo Carabelli (LL) beat Alex Michelsen (32): 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-3
- Karen Khachanov (22) beat Nick Kyrgios: 7-6 (3), 6-0
- Grigor Dimitrov (14) beat Federico Cina (WC): 6-1, 6-4
- Casper Ruud (5) beat Miomir Kecmanovic: 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
- Felix Auger-Aliassime (18) beat Tristan Schoolkate (Q): 6-4, 6-4
- Lorenzo Musetti (15) beat Quentin Halys: 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5
