Dream run: Wong will be banking on his good form to take him across the finish line.
| Photo Credit: Kamesh Srinivasan
Coleman Wong of Hong Kong stretched his dream run as he beat Yuta Shimizu of Japan 7-6(5), 6-4 in the semifinals of the Dafa News $82,000 Delhi Open Challenger tennis tournament at the DLTA Complex on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Wong, ranked 241 in the world, was more athletic and energetic in taming the Japanese who had put out the top seed Benjamin Bonzi in the second round.
It was more about capitalising on the chances and handling the windy conditions well, as Wong converted one of nine break points, while he did not let Shimizu convert any of the ten break points that he faced.
Wong, who had beaten S. Mukund in the first round in three sets, had enjoyed the fortune of getting a walkover in the second round from the champion of the last tournament, the third seed Valentin Vacherot of Monaco. In the other semifinal, Geoffrey Blancaneaux was crafty and had more firepower in his strokes to put out Tristan Boyer 6-3, 6-4.
Blancaneaux, who was ranked a career best 134 in 2022, had outplayed the second seed Adam Walton in the second round.
The Frenchman will be looking for his 15th singles title, second in a Challenger, when he plays Wong on Sunday.
Wong himself has only won two singles titles, but has everything to play for in strengthening his tennis career.
The third seeds, Piotr Matuszewski of Poland and Matthew Romios of Australia won the doubles title beating the Germans Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner in straight sets.
The results: Singles (semifinals): Coleman Wong (Hkg) bt Yuta Shimizu (Jpn) 7-6(5), 6-4; Geoffrey Blancaneaux (Fra) bt Tristan Boyer (USA) 6-3, 6-4.
Doubles (final): Piotr Matuszewski (Pol) & Matthew Romios (Aus) bt Jakob Schnaitter & Mark Wallner (Ger) 6-4, 6-4.
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