Prudential Hong Kong Open: wild card Ng within moments of shock win in qualifiers

Hong Kong tennis player Maggie Ng Man-ying came close to pulling off a huge upset in the first qualifying round of the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open on Saturday, before bowing out 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 to Lu Jiajing, who is ranked more than 1,000 places above her.

Wild card Ng was up 4-1 in the final set after securing an early break, but could only watch as Lu turned the tie on its head, winning the match on centre court at Victoria Park Tennis Stadium in two hours and one minute.

Ng usually plays on the ITF Women’s World Tennis Tour, the third tier of professional tennis, and is ranked world No 1,412, compared to Lu’s 350.

“Because she has such a higher ranking than me, in the beginning, I didn’t have much pressure,” Ng said. “The first set and the third set, I was leading so much, but she could find the rhythm back and changed a little bit.

“Also, in the third set, the rallies were so much longer; I felt like my fitness level wasn’t good enough to finish the match.”

Ng stormed to a 5-0 lead in the first set, and while the 29-year-old played some strong tennis, hitting testing cross-court shots that frequently sent Lu sprawling left and right, the Hongkonger was helped by her opponent’s poor first serve and failure to convert two out of three break points.

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