It should not have been this close when a 173rd-ranked qualifier goes up against a man with seventeen ATP Tour titles, who finished in the year-end top 8 in each of the past five seasons. Surely, not against a rookie from Hong Kong, who is competing in the maindraw of a major for the first time.

Against Andrey Rublev in the third round of the US Open, Coleman Wong came out swinging and took full advantage of his opponent’s woeful 38% first serves that were coupled with wayward hitting. After the HK rep saved three break points to hold for 3-2, he broke the No. 15 seed twice in succession to snag the opening set 6-2.

Up 1-0 in the ensuing set, Wong missed a golden opportunity to break a distraught Rublev, who was by now ready to implode. To his credit, Rublev stuck to his guns, weathered the storm, and began to read Wong’s serve much better as the match wore on. He capitalised on the only break point he would get in the seventh game to claim the second 6-4.

It became an uphill battle for Wong in the third set when he was broken to love in the opening game. His serve was again under siege in the third game when he was forced to save a pair of break points before holding to trail 2-1. Now landing over 60% of his first serves, Rublev did not face a single break point in this set. Instead, he broke Wong again in the ninth game with a forehand that painted the left sideline to go up two sets to one.

Yet, it was the HK rep who came out firing with all cylinders in the fourth, ripping inside-in and crosscourt forehand winners to break the Rublev serve in the first game. There were no more break point opportunities for either player and Wong held his remaining serves for 6-4 to even the match.

In the fifth, Wong’s service games were under relentless pressure, as Rublev was threatening to break every time. It finally cracked in the sixth game when Rublev came away with the crucial break to lead 4-2. Wong was unable to string enough together to force another break point chance, as the No. 15 seed held serve the rest of the way to complete a 2-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory.

Wong tallied 25 aces and hit 65 winners during the three-hour-and-ten-minute slugfest.

“Tough match. He played really well. He was playing really aggressive. He was playing with no fear. I didn’t start well, and he was all over me. I needed to really fight for every ball to be able to turn the match around. But he kept fighting until the last game, and there were many chances for both of us. I’m just glad that I was able to win, and I’m in the next round,” said Rublev.

Asked if he thought he had an advantage over an opponent who had never played a five-set match before, he replied: “It’s not about really today fitness. It was more about mental, who would take the chance.”

Wong’s journey at this year’s US Open started in the qualies where he defeated No. 159 Chris Rodesch of Luxembourg 6-4 6-2 in the first round. Then, he came from a set down to beat No. 126 Matteo Gigante of Italy 4-6 6-3 7-5. At the final hurdle, he kept his emotions in check and broke world No. 151 Billy Harris of Britain three times to register a commanding 6-3 6-4 victory.

This was Wong’s first maindraw qualification at a major after earlier attempts at the Australian Open (2025), French Open (2024 and 2025), and Wimbledon (2025).

In the first round of the maindraw proper, Wong drew American world No. 71 Alexandar Kovacevic. He served 22 aces, broke his opponent four times, and saved 4 of 6 break points to win a hard-fought affair 6-4 7-5 7-6(4).

Against world No. 85 Adam Walton in the second round, Wong was down a break twice in the first set, but the Aussie was unable to serve it out while leading 5-4 and 6-5 respectively. The 21-year-old from Hong Kong then outplayed his opponent in a tiebreak to take the opening set.

In the second set, Wong broke Walton twice and then saved four break points in the final game to hold for 6-2. Then with all the momentum on his side, Wong broke Walton to go up 4-3 in the third, only to see the Aussie break back twice in a row to snatch the set 6-4.

Walton, with more belief now, broke Wong immediately at the start of the fourth set to establish a quick-fire 2-0 lead. Sensing the prospect of losing a two-set lead, Wong knuckled down and broke the Aussie at 15 before consolidating to draw even at 2-2. At 3-3, Walton managed to save a break point at 15-40, but that was not enough to deter a resurgent Wong, as he pounced on his second opportunity to break for 4-3.

In the pivotal eighth game, Wong saved three break points to ward off Walton and held for a monumental 5-3 lead. Although the Aussie produced a love hold to peg the score back to 5-4, he could not stop the inevitable, as Wong threw down a couple of unreturnable serves to finish the three-hour-long second round encounter 7-6(5) 6-2 4-6 6-4.

The Hong Kong native served 21 aces against five double faults and converted 7 of 15 break points to win the match. Back at the Masters 1000 Miami Open earlier this season, it was Walton who ousted Wong in the third round in three sets after he had stunned world No. 14 Ben Shelton in the previous round.

It was a very good run by Wong at Flushing Meadows this week, as he is now the only player from Hong Kong to reach the men’s singles third round at a major. Things are looking up for the HK rep moving forward, especially with the upcoming Davis Cup tie against Uzbekistan from 13-14 September at Victoria Park and the 15th National Games later this December.

Photos: ArcK Photography @arckphoto