The fans turned out en masse on New Year's Day to welcome the return of ATP Tour tennis to the city for the first time in decades at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open, with opening-day tickets to the Victoria Park Tennis Stadium all sold out by the early afternoon.
An opening ceremony featuring traditional cultural performances was officiated by a group that included Kevin Yeung, secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism; Mr Stephen Chan, deputy chief executive of Bank of China Hong Kong; ATP supervisor Roland Herfel; and Michael Cheng, president of the Hong Kong, China Tennis Association.
After a spectacular fireworks show on New Year's Eve, the players brought their own pyrotechnics to Centre Court, with China's rising star Shang Juncheng beating Serbia's Laslo Djere on Centre Court in a marathon opening match that lasted three hours.
Shang said the 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 7-6 (10/8) victory over the seventh seed was "the best win of my career."
He added: "I had a pretty rough 2023 and coming into 2024 with a good win, I'm just really happy to be here and excited about what is next. Djere is 33 in the rankings so it is an amazing win, the biggest of my career. Hopefully I can do some good things this year."
Shang, 18, expressed his delight at playing once again in China saying: "It's really special. There are so many fans coming to support me and my family is here as well - that means the world."
Another big crowd is expected today as Hong Kong's No 1, Coleman Wong Chak-lam, headlines the Centre Court program with a showdown against sixth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
Wong will have friends and family courtside for his big moment against world No 27 Musetti.
A sold-out crowd watches Shang Juncheng beat Laslo Djere on Centre Court at Victoria Park.
