Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong told to ‘be like Sinner’ in ATP Challenger title quest

Coleman Wong Chak-lam claimed his first ATP Challenger title and was then told to emulate four-time grand slam winner Jannik Sinner by winning this week as well.

The Hong Kong tennis star beat Adam Walton 7-5, 7-6 in the final of the Jiangxi Open on Sunday, and has risen to 110 in the world as a result.

That makes the 21-year-old the highest-ranked player from the city ever, and puts a target on his back heading into the tournament in Wuxi, where he is seeded second and is scheduled to face Japan’s Akira Santillan on Tuesday.

Wong’s coach James Allemby called the short turnaround time before the next match “a great problem to have”, and said his charge should follow the example of Sinner, who won in Indian Wells and Miami in consecutive weeks.

“To have confidence and matches under his belt and to have to manage winning the previous week and starting again from scratch is a great situation to have and experience,” Allemby said. “The big guys manage to do it so often, so that’s what he’ll be thinking of, like [Jannik] Sinner winning the Sunshine Double.

“The ability to reset and stay humble for the next challenges while capitalising on the confidence earned. Not expecting to win, but working for it once again without entitlement.”