Hong Kong tennis star Coleman Wong Chak-lam suffered a straight sets defeat to American Alex Michelsen in the first round of the ATP Houston Open on Wednesday, marking a difficult start to his clay court season.
The 21-year-old, who had just picked up his fourth award at the Cathay 2025 Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards on Tuesday, faced a tough challenge against world No 35 Michelsen, who sits 89 places above him in the rankings.
Wong, currently ranked 124, fell 6-4, 6-2 to the seventh seed in 85 minutes.
The two had never faced each other before.
Despite throwing five aces – two more than her opponent – Wong was undone with 33 unforced errors, almost double Michelsen’s 18. She also failed to convert all three of her break chances before Michelsen tightened her grip in the second.
The result gave Michelsen his first victory on clay this season.
