The Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open first round kicked off with passionate home crowd support, as local favourite Cody Wong showcased her resilience and tactical adaptability on the Victoria Park Center Court.

Wong faced a formidable challenge in Slovakia’s Viktoria Morvayova, who delivered an exceptional performance. Despite the straight-sets 6-1, 6-0 scoreline, Wong’s determination was on full display as she tirelessly worked to solve the puzzle posed by her aggressive opponent.

From the outset, Wong demonstrated a fighter’s mentality. Recognising Morvayova’s powerful, baseline-hugging style, she strategically adjusted her game, employing variety and working to disrupt her opponent’s rhythm. Though the result wasn’t in her favour, Wong’s commitment to finding a solution never wavered.

“Being on home court, I definitely feel a bit nervous… but then I think I tried everything I could,” Wong said post-match, highlighting her positive outlook. “I didn’t give up, and I still tried to find a way.”

She also graciously credited Morvayova’s high level of play, stating, “I tried everything today, with all the varieties, and that’s all I can do today. I mean, she played really well today.”  This match provided invaluable experience against a player in top form, a key step in any athlete’s development.

Over the match, she committed a total of seven double faults, with a first serve percentage of just 53 for the whole match.

“In this match, she definitely played pretty well. I played her two times. First time, I think it’s like during COVID, and then the second time, it’s like two weeks ago, I lost 6-7, 1-6,” Wong said.

“But then, compared to this match, her level today is much higher than in the last two matches.

“Her style is, like, really fast, and then she just stays on the baseline, and then hits everything. And then what I can do is just try to change the rhythm and then add more variety. But then it’s not my day.”

Morvayova forced a total of 15 break points in the match, converting five. Afterwards, she thanked the Hong Kong crowd.

“I prepare for every match the same, but of course, she is at home, and I respect that,” Morvayova said. “But I think I played a good game and I’m very happy.

“The two qualifying matches, I was down match point, but I kept fighting, kept fighting, and I’m just so happy.”

In the round of 16 in the doubles tournament, Ng and Leong lost 6-2, 6-1 to Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima and American Sabrina Santamaria.

Earlier in the day, the first round got started with 31-year-old Chinese player Wang Yafan, ranked world No. 298, knocking out Maddison Inglis in a three-set thriller that ended 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.

World No. 44 Eva Lys also got her tournament underway, swatting aside Kristiana Sidorova in straight sets 6-0, 6-3.

On Tuesday, Hong Kong’s Eudice Chong will face a tough challenge when she comes up against world No. 85, Suzan Lamens from the Netherlands. Should Chong be able to pull off an upset there, it would be the biggest win of her singles career.

Aside from Hong Kong’s Chong, Tuesday promises to be an exciting day on centre court, with a number of big matches to look forward to.

First off, 2023 champion Leylah Fernandez will face off against China’s Wang Xiyu. She will be followed by the tournament’s No. 1 seed, Belinda Bencic, who just won the Japan Open on Sunday. She will face Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

The headline act is Filipino star and world No. 51 Alexandra Eala against world No. 79 and 2024 finalist Katie Boulter.