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Rafael Nadal hits with Coleman Wong – next Hong Kong’s Davis Cup star wants to play against him
- The teenager is based at Nadal’s academy and this week got to practise with the man himself, who he calls ‘my idol’
- Hongkonger, who won the boys’ doubles at 2021 US Open and 2022 Australian Open, rose in the singles rankings after two semi-finals in Vietnam this month
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Hong Kong’s two-time junior grand-slam title winner and Davis Cup star Coleman Wong Chak-lam has fulfilled a dream by practising with his idol Rafael Nadal, and said he wants to fulfil another by playing against the Spaniard.
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Wong spent three hours training in Spain with Nadal, winner of a record 22 men’s grand-slam singles titles, as he prepares to play in two tournaments in Indonesia.
The 18-year-old returned to his base at Nadal’s academy in Mallorca after a fortnight in which he won a doubles title and reached two singles semi-finals in Vietnam.
And he was overjoyed to learn that he would be able to hit with Nadal personally on Tuesday.
“Very grateful and honoured to have trained with my idol,” Wong wrote on Facebook. “It’s not every day you get this opportunity.”
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“The way he hits every ball is perfect,” Wong told the Post. “He is my idol and he is the reason I picked up a tennis racket. I wish I could play against him one day.”
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