It was a tale of two halves: Daniel Altmaier made a sluggish start to his opening-round clash against Chak Lam Coleman Wong, but found his rhythm to ultimately prevail 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 on the outdoor hard courts in Cincinnati. For Wong, who had battled through two qualifying matches to reach the main draw, a remarkable week at the tournament came to an end sooner than hoped.
Wong strong in the first set, Altmaier turns it around
Chak Lam Coleman Wong showed from the outset why he had been turning heads of late. The Hong Kong native, who had reached the semifinal at the ATP 250 event in Los Cabos shortly before Cincinnati — defeating then-world No. 12 Jiri Lehecka along the way — carried himself with real confidence. In the first set, Wong controlled proceedings, converting his break points clinically and taking the set 6-3. Eleven aces underlined the threat posed by his serve, though seven double faults simultaneously exposed a vulnerability on his own delivery.
Altmaier refused to be rattled by falling behind. The German steadied his game, began to dominate with his serve and grew increasingly effective at fending off Wong's break points — saving 70 percent of the break points he faced across the match. In the second set, Altmaier took command from the baseline, converted 57 percent of his break point opportunities and claimed the set comfortably, 6-3.
Altmaier takes the deciding set
The third set produced an intense battle, which Altmaier eventually settled 6-4 in his favour. Wong — who had already claimed his first ATP Challenger title on hard courts in Jiujiang in 2026 and is regarded as the greatest male tennis player in Hong Kong's history — fought hard, but could not raise his break point conversion to the required level: he converted just 30 percent of the break points he earned throughout the match.
The statistics reflected how tight the overall contest was: Altmaier won 52 percent of all points, Wong 48 percent. Altmaier won 64 percent of points on serve, Wong 60 percent. The difference ultimately came down to the German's greater efficiency in the decisive moments. Altmaier struck nine aces and committed just three double faults — a significantly cleaner record than his opponent.
Altmaier advances, Wong exits with head held high
For Daniel Altmaier, who had been eliminated in the second round in Montreal most recently, this victory was an important response. He now advances to the next round of the Western & Southern Open, one of the most prestigious warm-up events ahead of the US Open. Chak Lam Coleman Wong, meanwhile, leaves Cincinnati with his head held high: the two-time junior Grand Slam doubles champion had battled his way through qualifying into the main draw and gave everything once there.
