Australian Open: Hong Kong’s Coleman Wong exits qualifying after loss to Fonseca
Hongkonger was aiming to reach the main draw of a grand-slam tournament for the first time and had won his first qualifier in Melbourne
Coleman Wong Chak-lam’s hopes of reaching the main draw of the Australian Open ended as he lost to Joao Fonseca in the second round of qualifying.
Hong Kong’s Wong, ranked No 172 in the world, was left with a mountain to climb in Melbourne on Wednesday when Fonseca, the world No 113 from Brazil, took the first set to love.
Winner of last month’s ATP Next Gen Finals, Fonseca began fluently, storming to a 3-0 lead in 11 minutes, breaking Wong’s serve twice. He remained ruthless on court 17, taking the set’s last two games to love with Wong unable to manage a single break point.
Wong, 20, managed to hold serve in the first game of the second set, but any thoughts of a comeback soon diminished as the 18-year-old Fonseca surged to a 3-1 lead. The set then went with serve until the final game, when Fonseca broke again to seal a 6-0, 6-3 victory.
Fonseca was dominant, recording six aces and not conceding a single break point. After a demoralising first set, Wong found some joy when coming to the net, twice dinking the ball over then smashing winners after Fonseca returned.
