SINGAPORE \u2013 Despite trailing 3-0 in the deciding game of the Leapmotor Singapore Open men\u2019s singles final on July 26, Hong Kong\u2019s pickleball ace Wong Hong Kit found a way to win \u2013 thanks to some timely advice from training partner Marco Leung.<\/p>\n
Leung, who had lost to Wong in the semi-finals of the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) Tour Asia 500 event a day earlier, had told him to go for his opponent\u2019s backhand.<\/p>\n
That tweak worked a treat as the world No. 14 reeled off 11 consecutive points to storm back and beat 19th-ranked American Adam Harvey 6-11, 11-7, 11-3 at The Sports Arina @ Expo, becoming the first player to win three consecutive men\u2019s singles titles on the Tour after his triumphs in the Beijing and Tokyo tournaments.<\/p>\n
Wong, who collapsed to the floor after his win, said Leung\u2019s advice was the turning point for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarco and Kim Eung-gwon (his men\u2019s doubles partner), they\u2019re my best supporters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are always by my side, watching my previous singles finals, and they probably saw some stuff that I wasn\u2019t paying attention to when I was playing. I\u2019m just really grateful that they helped me.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Leung) was just repeating what we were talking about during the planning for this game.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wong, a former tennis player who reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 653, will next compete at the Ho Chi Minh City Open from Aug 6 to 9 and hopes to win a gold with Kim there.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe stopped at the semis every time, and now we\u2019ve got like five bronzes this year\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI think focusing on the men\u2019s doubles is my priority, but I\u2019ll always want to win the singles (category), no one wants to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the women\u2019s singles final, China\u2019s world No. 15 Long Yufei came from 4-3 down in the first game to beat compatriot and 74th-ranked Anni Xie 11-4, 11-0 to clinch the gold.<\/p>\n
She then teamed up with Hong Kong\u2019s Kara Wheatley to claim the women\u2019s doubles title, beating American Jamie Haas and China\u2019s Kong Lingwei 11-7, 12-10.<\/p>\n China\u2019s Long Yufei (left) and Kara Wheatley of Hong Kong with their trophies after winning the women’s doubles final at the Leapmotor Singapore Open on July 26.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: JASEL POH<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Long, who partnered American Lucas Pascoe in the mixed doubles, in which they lost in the third-place play-off to Wheatley and Wong, said she was exhausted after racking up the \u201cmost number of matches that I played in a tournament\u201d.<\/p>\n She added: \u201cI feel really honoured and feel like it was a privilege to be able to make it so deep in the draw in every event.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it was also super challenging to the body, super challenging for the mental side of the game, so I think in the future I might keep it to singles and women\u2019s doubles.\u201d<\/p>\n After winning the first game 11-7, Long and Wheatley looked set to take the victory with a 10-5 lead in the second.<\/p>\n But an inspired Haas and Kong pushed them to 10-10, before conceding 12-10.<\/p>\n Wheatley said: \u201cWe were on the same page the whole match, we were very aggressive and complemented each other very well today.<\/p>\n \u201cJamie and Lingwei had a really good comeback when we were up 10-5 and we kind of lost our rhythm a little bit, but at the end we adjusted and we were able to figure things out.<\/p>\n \u201cThe crowd was going crazy, cheering for Lingwei and Jamie, but for me personally, I just tried to look at Yufei\u2019s face, and I just wanted to hype each other up.\u201d<\/p>\n Collin Johns (left) and Len Yang facing a tough test against Vietnam\u2019s Hien Truong and Japan\u2019s Kenta Miyoshi in the men\u2019s doubles final at the Leapmotor Singapore Open on July 26, when the American duo eventually triumphed.<\/p>\n ST PHOTO: JASEL POH<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n In the men\u2019s doubles final, second-seeded pair Len Yang and Collin Johns suffered a scare before beating Vietnam\u2019s Hien Truong and Japan\u2019s Kenta Miyoshi 11-4, 4-11, 11-5.<\/p>\n The Americans have already tasted success this season with gold at the May 13-17 Kuala Lumpur Open.<\/p>\n Yang, who will be getting bubble tea to celebrate, said: \u201cWe\u2019ve trained a lot together and Collin is one of the smartest people in pickleball\u2026 He has really taken me under his wing this year, and I\u2019ve learnt so much from him and am beyond grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n Johns, who will be celebrating with a meal from Din Tai Fung, added: \u201cPutting a partnership together that makes sense \u2013 not just on paper, but enjoying playing with that person, learning as a team, and always trying to get a little bit better.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s been a great ride and definitely had some success and that always propels us to even higher heights.\u201d<\/p>\n In the mixed doubles final, Americans Jaeda Minniefield and Luc Pham defeated compatriot Xiao Yi Wang-Beckvall and Australian Robert Stirling 11-9, 7-11, 11-5 for the gold.<\/p>\n Dive into all the sporting action and trends in Singapore with ST\u2019s\u00a0weekly newsletter.<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>
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