Davis Cup: Hong Kong’s Wong battles heat, dizziness to level World Group II tie with Ecuador
Coleman Wong holds off world 1,320 Marcos Lee to level World Group II first round tie at 1-1 heading into Sunday
Coleman Wong Chak-lam overcame the heat, dizzy spells and a battling opponent ranked more than 1,000 places below him to draw Hong Kong level in their Davis Cup tie against Ecuador on Saturday.
The Hongkonger finally saw off Marcos Lee Chan Baratau in three sets at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium, to send his side into Sunday’s reverse singles level at 1-1.
Lee, 1,320 in the world, was 4-0 up at one point in the second set and battled through injury in the third, and proved to be a tougher-than-anticipated opponent for Wong, who is ranked 137th.
Speaking after his 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, win, which took one hour and 46 minutes, Wong said the pressure of the home crowd, plus not feeling well beforehand, meant he was unable to bring his A game.
“It’s not easy, obviously, playing in front of a lot of the [home] crowd. I like it, but sometimes it’s not so easy,” Wong said. “You check the opponent’s ranking or anything before the match, and you’ll be thinking what he’s like and anticipate a little bit how he plays, and then he ends up playing really good. I feel like it’s a really good lesson for me.”
Wong said he was not feeling “100 per cent” and was a little bit dizzy before the game, and added the heat of his home city was also a factor, saying he needed to “get used to it”.
