At the 10th All China Games Qualifying in Tianjin, Hong Kong representatives Yu Hiu Tung, Wayne Wong, and Lam Po Kuen all came up with solid wins in their opening singles matches, but the eighth-seeded mixed doubles combination of Tung and Polly was upset by the Anhui pair of Zhou He and Li Ting in three sets, 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), in the second round after holding an early one-set lead.

With seedings accorded in relation to ATP and WTA Rankings instead of mainland rankings as in years past, Hong Kong's two-pronged attack in the men's singles qualies benefited the most, as both Tung and Wayne were seeded ninth and eleventh respectively, and avoided heavy traffic in the early rounds. What this really meant was that they did not have to face any of the top-seeded big guns such as Sun Peng, Wang Yu, Jr., or Zhu Ben-Qiang, or any seeds for that matter, until the round of sixteen. The present situation has certainly made life a lot more manageable, as opposed to having to deal with a pick of any of those high seeds in, say, the opening round.

The top 24 finishers automatically qualify for the singles maindraw at the ACG proper in Nanjing in October. However, getting as best a result is imperative in the qualies because being seeded in Nanjing is even more important to any plans of bringing back a medal of any sort. The key here, once again, remain with the seedings.

Tung and Wayne were both dealt relatively inexperienced opponents in the second round after receiving byes in the opener because of their seeded status. As predicted, Tung was too solid from the backcourt for his Henan opponent, while Wayne simply had too much game for someone who does not presently hold a professional ranking. Both HK Davis Cuppers advanced with ease to the third round.

Tung is in the top half of the men's draw and is seeded to meet No. 7 Zhang Yu (Beijing) in the fourth round. Should the Hong Kong number two get that far unscathed, he will have a chance to straighten out some unfinished business against world No. 336 and top seed, Sun Peng (Tianjin), in the ensuing quarterfinals.

During last year's Asian Championships in Tashkent, an on-fire Yu Hiu Tung was painting the lines against Sun, the then seventh seed; out-hitting him, had him scampering left and right, and had the Chinese number one on the ropes with three match points before going down in a tough, 5-7, 7-5, 7-5, first round loss.

Sixth seeded Yu Xin-Yuan (Beijing) looks to be the only obstacle in Wayne's immediate bracket in the bottom half of the draw. The winner of their projected fourth round encounter will likely go on to meet either No. 15 Yang Wei-Guang (Hebei) or No. 3 Zhu Ben-Qiang (Hubei) for a place in the semis.

"Polly played solid throughout to stymie her opponent from getting into the match to register a comfortable win. She will play Dong Yan-Hua from Shanghai in the second round. They've hit many times before and know each other's strengths and weaknesses well. They have similar type games and it will depend on who can best play up to their level and keep the unforced errors down," said HKSI Head Tennis Coach, Stan Tamura, from Tianjin.

The seeded players in Polly's bracket are No. 4 Sun Tian-Tian (Henan) and No. 16 Gao Quan (Jiangsu).

Earlier, Yu Hiu Tung and Lam Po Kuen, the No. 8 seeds for the mixed doubles qualies, easily took the first set against Anhui's Zhou He and Li Ting but were unable to sustain the momentum as the HK pair was mired in a dog fight with their opponents. The last two sets was a see-saw battle between the two sides, with the Anhui pair just managing to squeeze through in the end in three sets, 2-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5).

Men's Seedings:

1. Sun Peng (Tianjin)
2. Wang Yu, Jr. (Tianjin)
3. Zhu Ben-Qiang (Hubei)
4. Zeng Shao-Xuan (Jiangsu)
5. Lu Hao (PLA)
6. Yu Xin-Yuan (Beijing)
7. Zhang Yu (Beijing)
8. Wang Yi-Ning (Tianjin)
9. Yu Hiu Tung (HKG)
10. Li Xiang (Jiangsu)
11. Wayne Wong (HKG)
12. Li Jing-Yi (Beijing)
13. Wang Yu (Beijing)
14. Xu Ran (PLA)
15. Yang Wei-Guang (Hebei)
16. Gu Lei-Ming (Shanghai)

Women's Seedings:

1. Peng Shuai (Tianjin)
2. Li Na (Hubei)
3. Zheng Jie (Sichuan)
4. Sun Tian-Tian (Henan)
5. Li Ting (Hubei)
6. Liu Nan-Nan (Tianjin)
7. Xie Yan-Ze (Tianjin)
8. Yan Zi (Sichuan)
9. Chen Yan-Chong (Guangdong)
10. Yang Shu-Jing (Hunan)
11. Hao Jie (Henan)
12. Huang Lei (PLA)
13. Yu Ying (Hunan)
14. Liu Wei-Juan (Guangdong)
15. Sun Sheung-Nan (PLA)
16. Gao Quan (Jiangsu)

Results
10th All China Games Qualifying
Tianjin, China
March 18-26, 2005

Men's Singles

Second Round
(9)Yu Hiu Tung (HKG) d. Li Jian (Henan) 6-0 6-0
(11)Wayne Wong (HKG) d. Zhang Zhe (Shandong) 6-2 6-0

Women's Singles

First Round
Lam Po Kuen (HKG) d. Yuan Wen-Qui (Anhui) 6-2 6-1