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Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open
SportTennis

Local hero Zhang Ling swiftly dumped out of Hong Kong Tennis Open by ruthless Radwanska

Hong Kong number one exits home tournament inside 70 minutes

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Zhang Ling was quickly dumped out of the Hong Kong Tennis Open in the first round. Photo: Hong Kong Tennis Association
Paul Ryding
Hong Kong’s interest in the singles event at this week’s Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open lasted barely 70 minutes on Tuesday as the city’s number one player, Zhang Ling, suffered another first round exit at her home tournament, going down 6-1, 6-2 against world number 18 Agnieszka Radwanska at Victoria Park on Tuesday.

The fourth-seeded Pole, making her debut at the Hong Kong event, was in no mood to prolong matters as temperatures soared to 32 degrees Celsius on a baking hot centre court.

Zhang was broken for the first time in the fourth game and was never able to find her way back into a one-sided opening set before eventually going down 6-1 inside 25 minutes.

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“I think I was let down a little by my attacking shots today,” Zhang said afterwards. “In the first set I was waiting a little too much and I think I should have been more aggressive on my feet.

In the second and final set, Zhang quickly lost her serve again and 28-year-old Radwanska, who is yet to win a title in 2017, took full advantage of her break points as she sealed an easy win over the home-town hero.

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