Sunny Yue captured his first local major when he overcame the loss of the opening set to beat No. 2 seed Ethan Leung 3-6 6-1 6-2 in the men’s singles final. Meanwhile, top-seeded Maggie Ng defeated third seed Luk Kei Yuen 6-2 6-2 to claim a record-setting ninth ladies’ singles title.
The men’s final began with the No. 2-seeded Leung breaking Yue in the second game to take a quick-fire 2-0 lead. Yue responded by breaking Leung’s next two service games to grab a 3-2 lead. To his credit, Leung regained his composure and knuckled down to snag the next four games in a row to take the set 6-3.
In the second set, Yue saved a break point to hold for 1-0. Leung then managed to save three breaks before he was finally broken. Yue swiftly consolidated for a 3-0 lead. Leung then held to get on the board before Yue produced another three-game run to close out the set 6-1. The last game was a battle of wills, as Yue was forced to save three break points before he finally connected on his fourth game point to hold serve.
In the third set, Leung began by saving three break points to hold for 1-0. Yue, on the hand, squandered three game points before holding to draw even at 1-1. On serve at 2-2, Leung double faulted twice to lose serve. Yue the belted an ace on game point to consolidate the break to lead 4-2. In the next game, up 40-0 on serve, Leung conceded the next five points to yield serve again. Yue then held to complete a 3-6 6-1 6-2 victory to lift his first SCAA Open title.
Leung, a runner-up here in 2020, lamented: “First set, I had enough energy to control the rallies, but in second and third sets I just didn’t do enough to control the points. I just wasn’t up to the task put in front of me today.”
At the CRC Open last year, Leung sent two-time defending champion Jack Wong crashing out in the quarterfinal and took the opening set in the title match before Kevin Wong rallied to win 4-6 6-3 6-3.
Hong Kong Junior Davis Cupper, 15-year-old Walter Tam, defeated last year’s runner-up, Rihards Emulins 6-4 3-6 6-3 to reach his first SCAA Open semifinal. However, he was unable to get past Sunny Yue, who broke the teenager once in each set to advance to the final with a 6-3 6-4 win.
In the other semifinal, 2022 runner-up Ethan Leung was up 2-1 in the opening set when his opponent, Kelvin Lam, saved all four break points he faced and took the next seven games in a row to jump out to a 6-2 2-0 lead. Then, with a 3-1 lead in hand, Lam proceeded to lose the next six games on the trot, as Leung restored parity by grabbing the second set 6-3.
In the third, Lam broke back twice in the early going to stake himself a 4-2 lead. However, in the seventh game, Lam pulled a calf muscle midway and Leung wasted no time in breaking back to force a 4-4 impasse. In the ninth game, Lam dug deep to save a pair of break points to hold for 5-4. After Leung held easily for 5-5, Lam squandered four game point opportunities consecutively before the No. 2 seed broke again to go up 6-5. Leung held again to complete a 2-6 6-3 7-5 victory. The final set alone took an hour and eight minutes.
“It is always tough to play Kelvin, he’s such a smart player. I had nothing to lose after going down a set and a break, just tried to stay in the match as long as possible and run after every ball. Glad it worked in my favour at the end,” said Leung.
The men’s draw was blown wide open after the withdrawals of top-seeded world No. 673 Arthur Weber and 3rd-seeded former SCAA champion, Kevin Wong.
In a repeat of the Bank of China Hong Kong National Tennis Championships earlier this year, top seed Maggie Ng defeated No. 3 seed Luk Kei Yuen 6-2 6-2 to capture her ninth career SCAA Open ladies’ singles title. Ng won eight games on the trot from 2-2 in the opening set to take control of the match, as she jumped out to a huge 6-2 6-0 lead.
In the ladies’ doubles final, unseeded Vivian Lin/Nikita Tang saved four match points in the third set super-tiebreak to upset No. 1 seed Maggie Ng/Luk Kei Yuen 6-4 1-6 [12-10] to lift their third title together as a tandem. Lin and Tang also took home the ladies’ doubles in 2020 and 2022.
In the men’s doubles final, there were no service breaks until 5-5 when Lee Hsin-Han failed to convert a game point at 40-30 and yielded his serve courtesy of the sudden death deuce. Andy Lau duly held to secure the first set 7-5. Then, at 2-2 in the second set, Steve Ng coughed up a double fault at 30-40 to lose serve. Ethan Leung wasted no time to consolidate the break, throwing down an ace on game point to hold for 4-2. With no more breaks of serve, Leung served for the match leading 5-4, 40-30 and although he was taken to deuce, he managed to convert on his second match to complete a 7-5 6-4 victory.
Lee was a three-time winner of the SCAA Open men’s doubles, partnering Ng to capture the title in 2020 and also with Brian Yeung in 2018 and 2019.
In the ladies’ doubles final, the unseeded pairing of Vivian Lin/Nikita Tang saved four match points in the third set super-tiebreak to beat No. 1 seed Maggie Ng/Luk Kei Yuen 6-4 1-6 [12-10] to capture for the third time together as a tandem. Lin and Tang also won here at King’s Park in 2020 and 2022.
Lin: “Towards the end of the match, we stayed in the moment and made good shot selections that led us to victory.”
Second-seeded Andy Lau/Nikita Tang broke serve in the second game of the first set, and again in the penultimate game of the ensuing set, to beat third seed Kennex Abadia/Marinel Rudas 6-3 6-4 to capture this year’s mixed doubles title.
Results
SCAA Open
King’s Park
Sep 14-Oct 20, 2024
Men’s Singles Final
Sunny Yue d. (2)Ethan Leung 3-6 6-1 6-2
Ladies’ Singles Final
(1)Maggie Ng d. (3)Luk Kei Yuen 6-2 6-2
Men’s Doubles Final
Andy Lau/Ethan Leung d. (4)Lee Hsin-Han/Steve Ng 7-5 6-4
Ladies’ Doubles Final
Vivian Lin/Nikita Tang d. (1)Maggie Ng/Luk Kei Yuen 6-4 1-6 [12-10]
Mixed Doubles Final
(2)Andy Lau/Nikita Tang d. (3)Kennex Abadia/Marinel Rudas 6-3 6-4