The Prudential Hong Kong National Tennis Championships 2018 concluded with No. 2 seed\u00a0Jack Wong\u00a0defeating Roger Ng to capture his second straight men’s singles title.\u00a0 Meanwhile, Maggie Ng, a former three-time finalist, saw off Venia Yeung in the ladies’ final to win her maiden singles crown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I just needed to stay solid in the first set and then try to put more pressure on my opponent in the beginning of the second,” said Wong. “Winning back-to-back here is obviously a great feeling and hopefully I can come back next year and defend my title again.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I am glad that I had the opportunity to play in the men’s open singles final. Getting there was never going to be easy with all the elite Hong Kong players in the field. I gained a lot from competing against them,” said Ng.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a face-off between two teenagers, Ng, 16, managed to save a pair of break points from 30-40 down before he double-faulted to concede his serve to the No. 2 seed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Wong, 19, consolidated easily for 2-0, the sixth-seeded Ng again faced two break points before he finally held to get on the board. This spurred the teenager on, as he broke the defending champion to love and won his next service game confidently to lead 3-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Wong responded by grabbing 12 of the next 14 points to jump out to a 5-3 lead. With the set slipping away, Ng’s serve was under siege once again, but he fought off two more break points from 30-40 to hold for 5-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sixteen-year-old then warded off a set point in the next game, but Wong was not to be denied and he went on to take the opener, 6-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wong started the second by bagging eight out of 9 points to propel himself to a quick-fire 2-0 advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ng then fell behind swiftly and despite saving another pair of break points from 15-40 down, he yielded his serve again to trail 3-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a final effort to stem the tide, Ng managed to force the No. 2 seed into a 0-40 hole but he fell shy of converting, as Wong eventually hung on to make it 4-0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the finish line in sight, the Hong Kong Davis Cupper wasted no time and reeled in eight of the next nine points to complete a 6-4, 6-0, victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has now captured five of the last six local majors since the SCAA Open 2016, with the only exception being last year’s CRC Open where Kevin Wong upended him in three sets, 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Remarkably, that loss not only prevented the nineteen-year-old from winning his third consecutive CRC Open, it also foiled his attempt to capture all three major championships of 2017.
Nevertheless, Wong is the fifth player to win two or more successive men’s singles titles at the HK Nationals since 1978. Former Davis Cupper, Colin Grant, completed the only three-peat on record when he triumphed from 1984-86.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ng, a quarterfinalist last year, did extremely well to upset top seed Kevin Wong in the last eight, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, and No. 3 seed Brian Yeung in the semis, 2-6, 6-2, 6-2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the ladies’ singles final, second-seeded Maggie Ng did not ease her foot off the pedal, as she took eleven successive games from 1-1 in the first set to register a 6-1, 6-0, win to seal her maiden triumph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ng was a former three-time finalist, having finished runner-up to Wu Ho Ching in 2012, Ki Yan Tung in 2014, and Claudia Ng in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The men’s doubles title went to No. 1 seed Jack Wong and Kevin Wong, who produced a late break in each set to beat No. 2 Brian Yeung and Roger Ng, 6-3, 6-3.
Wong and Wong have now won the last three major doubles championships, starting with the SCAA Open last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The mixed doubles went to No. 3 seed Jack Wong and Cody Wong following their 6-1, 6-3, win against Jason Chan and Avril Look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By sweeping all three, Jack Wong becomes the first player to simultaneously secure the men’s singles, men’s doubles, and mixed doubles titles at the HK Nationals since Jack Hui achieved the same feat back in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Results
Prudential Hong Kong National Tennis Championships
Victoria Park, Causeway Bay
Feb 26-Apr 15, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Men’s Singles
(2)Jack Wong d. (6)Roger Ng 6-4 6-0
Ladies’ Singles
(2)Maggie Ng d. (4)Venia Yeung 6-1 6-0
Men’s Doubles
(1)Jack Wong\/Kevin Wong d. (2)Brian Yeung\/Roger Ng 6-3 6-3
Ladies’ Doubles
(1)Maggie Ng\/Jennifer Sher d. (3)Edilyn Balanga\/Marinel Rudas 6-2 6-3
Mixed Doubles
(3)Jack Wong\/Cody Wong d. Jason Chan\/Avril Look 6-1 6-3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-8774","news-detail","type-news-detail","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n