Wong, World No. 182, Defeats Shelton and Secures the Biggest Win of His Career in Miami
After the surprising eliminations of Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz yesterday, the fifth day of competition in Miami saw another sensation with the victory of Coleman Wong, ranked 182nd in the world, against Ben Shelton, ranked 14th (7-6, 2-6, 7-6).
The Hong Kong native, invited by the organizers, had defeated Daniel Altmaier (6-4, 6-3) in his first-round match in Florida.
Facing Shelton, a recent quarterfinalist at Indian Wells, Wong played fearless and aggressive tennis (30 winners to 28 unforced errors) and managed to outplay the American No. 3 in two perfectly controlled tie-breaks.
After the match point, emotions ran high for the World No. 182, who shared this with the ATP microphone: "This victory is for Hong Kong. I don’t really know how I feel. I came here with little confidence. I’d like to thank my parents, my team, my coaches.
They knew I was struggling, and playing here wasn’t a given. Playing in the biggest tournaments against the best players in the world has been my dream since I was young. I’m very happy."
Wong, now qualified for the third round after this first victory over a Top 20 player, will have a great chance to reach the round of 16 against lucky loser Adam Walton.
Grande Rafa❤️