Stars drawn as Hong Kong toasts ATP return

It has been 21 years in the making, and now world-class action is officially back on show at the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium in Hong Kong.

Rewind to the turn of the millennium and the likes of Michael Chang, Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Juan Carlos Ferrero ruled these very courts. Now, it’s the turn of a star-studded roster at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open to kick-start their season in style.

Top seed Andrey Rublev leads the line-up alongside Top 20 talent in Karen Khachanov and Frances Tiafoe. Throw into the mix returning 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic and local wild card Chak Lam Coleman Wong, and it promises to be a compelling week.

The draw was conducted onsite on Saturday and produced a plethora of intriguing first-round matches. ATP Newcomer of the Year Arthur Fils arrives as the No.8 seed and will have to nullify the threat of powerful Croat Borna Gojo. Another Croatian interest, former World No.3 Cilic, faces a big-hitting opener with fifth seed Jan-Lennard Struff.

Hometown 19-year-old Wong is set to make his ATP main draw debut against the sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti. Local fans will also be backing Chinese prodigy Shang Juncheng in a clash with World No. 33 Laslo Djere.

Another ultra-consistent season launched Rublev back up to a career-high ranking of World No.5 in 2023. The 26-year-old is raring to go in Hong Kong, where he is riding a wave of confidence.

"I feel great, I'm happy to be in Hong Kong," said Rublev, who received a bye for the opening round. "The past two days of practice have been great. Goal here is of course to prepare as best as I can for Australia. If I can go deep, that's perfect."

After reaching the US Open quarter-finals in September, Rublev chalked up a final showing at the Rolex Shanghai Masters and reached the last four in Vienna and Paris to launch into the season-ending ATP Finals.

"I feel now whomever I have in the draw doesn't matter. If I'm smart and control my emotions, I'll have the chance to win any match," stated Rublev. "Since the US Open I've been playing really well, I've been playing tennis I don't remember playing like that."

The World No.5 certainly won't be distracted by the fact he is top seed in Hong Kong.

"Mentally I feel great. I was missing competing. I just try to look at this from a different view. There are a lot of good players here and it's not about first or numbers," added the 26-year-old Rublev. "It's about whether I'm ready to fight, to accept all the challenges on court.

“If I'm not ready, I start to complain or lose control, then even as top seed I'd lose anyway with this attitude. It's all about what I need to focus on. For the moment I'm really enjoying being back, enjoying the travel, playing different tournaments and enjoying what is inside of tennis."

Your top seeds in Hong Kong 🤩@Hkto_mens | #BOCHKTO2024 pic.twitter.com/ULAuoWM3gQ

— ATP Tour (@atptour) December 31, 2023

Competing in the main draw is a dream come true for Wong. The 19-year-old first picked up a racquet on these grounds, which now provide the perfect platform for taking his ATP bow.

"I feel really special and happy because it's my first one," said the 19-year-old. "My first tennis memory was playing on Court 3, my first ever tennis lesson was out there! I would say I've come a long way in those 14 years of tennis since starting at 5.

"There's a lot of emotions. To have an ATP 250 here, in this park, is very special to me. Obviously there will be a bit of pressure on myself. I want to do well at home, but I'll just try my best. Going from watching these players on TV, to playing next to them onsite is another feeling. I'm really excited."

The world No. 253 Wong has been fine-tuning his game at Rafael Nadal's academy in recent years and duelled with the 22-time Grand Slam champion during pre-season.

"He's a legend, my favourite player. I grew up watching him," said Wong. "Training with him in the Academy, he gave me quite a lot of advice. I asked him how it feels to play your first ATP event. He just told me to play my game because he had a lot of pressure from the start too, just to enjoy it."

Frances Tiafoe was born to perform on the big stage with his electric athleticism and on-court personality. The American, who received a bye in the first round, is keen to make an even stronger impact in 2024.

"It's excitement. I'm going to be 26 this year in a little bit and I'm ready to kinda take that next step," declared the No.3 seed. "The last couple of seasons have been pretty good, definitely in the right direction.

"I feel good, ready to go. Obviously, every tournament you play you want to win it, but I want to get some matches in, play well and try to get some good popcorn matches in.

"It's always good to see where you're at early in the year, test the waters out. It's a real tough field, I see a lot of good names here."

Karen Khachanov is a key contender in Hong Kong having booked a quarter-final or semi-final across all four majors within the past three seasons.

The highly motivated 27-year-old has spent the off-season with his young family as well as fine-tuning his brutal repertoire.

"Very important to get some big matches in, that's why the field is so strong," said Khachanov. "At the beginning of the season everyone is pumped, ready to give everything, show what they have done in pre-season, whilst being re-charged too.

"It's very important to take one match at a time, to get as many matches under my belt before the Australian Open, but at the same time, I need to focus on the here and now to get the best out of it.

Republished with permission of hkmenstennisopen.com.