After fending off a number of early break points to take the opening set, an in-form, Jack Wong, the top-seeded defending champion, began to pull away, as he gradually wore down Kevin Wong to complete a 6-4 6-3 victory to win his second consecutive men’s singles title. Meanwhile, in the ladies’ singles final, No. 1 seed Maggie Ng made amends for her early exit last year by steamrolling defending champion Sviatlana Pirazhenka in under an hour.
Trailing 2-1 on serve in the opening set, Jack Wong overcame a pair of untimely double faults and saved four break points to draw even at 2-2. At 3-3, 30-30, the No. 1 seed withstood some heavy hitting from Kevin Wong to win two engaging rallies in a row to break serve to go up 4-3. Then, serving for the set leading 5-4, 30-30, Jack Wong was pushed deep into his own backhand corner, as Kevin Wong ripped consecutive down-the-line forehands to force the issue. However, the No. 2 seed missed an inside-out forehand wide on break point and a first serve winner from Jack Wong two points later saw him hold for the all-important first set 6-4.
After breaking Kevin Wong in the opening game of the second set, Jack Wong proceeded to win his next four service games to love that was highlighted by four consecutive aces in the sixth game. Trailing 5-3, 40-15 and serving to stay in the match, the No. 2 seed managed to save a match point with a stretch overhead volley that barely made it over the net, but Jack Wong then produced a forehand down-the-line passing shot to close out the set and the match, 6-4, 6-3.
Jack Wong (2017-2018, 2022-2023) is now a four-time winner of the Prudential Hong Kong National Tennis Championships. What’s more, he has claimed the last five local majors dating back to the CRC Open in 2021, and with four of those victories coming against the same opponent he faced today. In addition, he has won the SCAA Open five times (2015-2017, 2019, 2022) and the CRC Open four times (2015-2016, 2021-2022). In 2022, he swept all three local majors to become the Triple Crown winner.
In the men’s doubles final, Lee Hsin-Han was facing Jack Wong/Kevin Wong for the fifth time in a row in this event, albeit with a third different partner in Steve Ng. Wong/Wong lost just three points on serve and broke Ng twice to take the opening set 6-1. The top seed broke Ng again in the first game of the second set and then consolidated for a quick-fire 2-0 lead. Just as the match seemingly headed towards one-way traffic, Jack Wong coughed up his serve for the first time today, as Lee/Ng fought back on serve to lead 4-3. However, in the ninth game, Wong/Wong broke Ng for the fourth time before holding serve without much fanfare to complete a 6-1, 6-4 victory to lift their fourth men’s doubles title in six years.
Making a guest appearance as live commentator today was former Davis Cupper and the 2020 Triple Crown winner, Brian Yeung: “It was actually quite fun. Hope I didn’t do too bad in sharing my experience during the stream. It was probably a lot more fun because Jack and Kevin were playing, and watching them battling out from a different perspective was great, and the final was a great match. And yes, I would absolutely do it again!”
Results
Prudential Hong Kong National Tennis Championships
Victoria Park Tennis Stadium
February 25-April 19, 2023
Men’s Singles
(1)Jack Wong d. (2)Kevin Wong 6-4 6-3
Ladies’ Singles
(1)Maggie Ng d. (2)Sviatlana Pirazhenka 6-0 6-0
Men’s Doubles
(1)Jack Wong/Kevin Wong d. (2)Lee Hsin-Han/Steve Ng 6-1 6-4
Ladies’ Doubles
(1)Maggie Ng/Sviatlana Pirazhenka d. (2)Nikita Tang/Yu Wing Sze 6-3 7-5
Mixed Doubles
(1)Jack Wong/Maggie Ng d. (2)Karan Rastogi/Sviatlana Pirazhenka 7-6(8) 7-5
Draws: https://bit.ly/3GSwiZ1