The first night match of the inaugural Prudential Hong Kong Tennis 125 on Centre Court saw world No. 90 Anna Bondar of Hungary up the ante when it mattered most to cement the clinching break in the tenth game against Hong Kong’s Cody Wong to snatch the opener 6-4.
The Hong Kong No. 2 played much better in the ensuing set and was up by a break leading 4-2, but Bondar showed her qualities by knuckling down with some fierce hitting off both wings to draw even at 4-4. She then produced a late break in the tenth game to win in straight sets 6-4 6-4 to go through to a second round meeting with Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands.
“I’m disappointed that I lost today. I’ve been working extremely hard on my physical and I really felt I’ve improved since coming back from training in Belgium. I managed to keep it close until the end of the first set even though I wasn’t serving all that well. In the second, I was up 4-2 and couldn’t capitalise on the advantage. But I know I can do better.”
Former NCAA singles champion Arianne Hartono and Dutch compatriot Suzan Lamens were mired in a battle royale out on Court 1. With the score even at a set apiece, Hartono seemingly hand the upper hand in the early going of the third when she led by a break twice. Lamens had other ideas, however, as she fought back each time before she found the decisive break in the tenth game to progress with a 6-4 1-6 6-4 victory.
In the qualifying, local entry Tiffany Wu held three set points and led 6-3 in the first set tiebreak, but Ma Ye-Xin of China managed to win the next five points on the trot to snag the opener 7-6(6).
The second set was a continuation of the first, with both players engaged in a protracted baseline battle till the end. However, Ma Ye-Xin found a way out of a late jam by digging deep near the finish line to save a pair of break points before holding on to beat Wu 7-6(6) 6-3 to progress to the maindraw.
In another qualifying match out on Court 1, Thailand’s Peangtarn Plipuech managed to come from a set down to beat the all-court game of American Jessie Aney 4-6 7-6(4) 7-5 to secure her place in the maindraw proper.
The first match on Centre Court saw Yang Yidi of China go up against former world No. 41 Margarita Betova of Russia. After Yang broke serve four times to snatch the opening set 6-4, Betova was forced to retire due to an injury.
Former world No. 19 Varvara Lepchenko was pitted against local youngster Justine Leong, but the American had too much game, as she powered home 6-0 6-0 to qualify for the maindraw.
Tomorrow’s action on Centre Court will see the appearances of No. 2 seed Clara Burel, Aussie star Ajla Tomljanovic, Hong Kong No. 1 Eudice Chong, and twice Asian and National Games women’s singles gold medalist, Wang Qiang.