After taking a “step in the maturation process” during an epic week in the Dominican Republic, a battle-weary Coleman Wong Chak-lam is ready to return to the scene of one of the biggest victories of his young career.
Wong played five three-set matches in five days, spending nearly 12 hours on court, during his run to the quarterfinals at the Copa Cap Cana tournament in Punta Cana last week; making the most of the loser’s position in the main draw after losing in the second round of the playoffs.
The Hongkonger’s coach, James Allemby, said his charge “ran out of gas physically” towards the end of his last-eight loss to Alexander Blockx on Saturday, but he hopes Wong will “make the most of the match consistency he has built” when he competes in the Miami Open next week.
“We had a conversation with Coleman after he failed in qualifying and told him his biggest strength is his competitiveness and his attitude, not tennis itself,” Allemby said.
“We said to use the race to explain his values to the court, not to let his values be ruled by the results or how he feels. His attitude changed and he competed well.”
Wong also recovered from bad luck at the Mexican Open last month, but at that event he lost his first-round match against world number 26 Valentin Vacherot.
