Hong Kong French Open interest over after Eudice Chong defeat in women’s doubles
City player pockets €22,500 (US$26,200) after run to last-16 at Roland Garros as quarter-finals prove a step too far
Hong Kong interest in the French Open is over after Eudice Chong and partner Veronika Erjavec crashed out in the third round of the women’s doubles on Monday.
Having come through a pair of three-set encounters to book a date with Shuko Aoyama and Liang En-shuo, Chong and Slovenian Erjavec were beaten 6-1, 6-3 by the Japan-Chinese Taipei duo.
Mainland China, however, still has a player left in the women’s doubles, after Guo Hanyu partnered France’s Kristina Mladenovic to beat third-seeded pair Zhang Shuai of China and and Elise Mertens of Belgium.
The 13th seeds, who won 6-2, 6-4, will now face Aoyama and Liang.
The first Hong Kong woman to reach the last-16 of a grand slam, Chong pocketed €22,500 (US$26,200) for her week’s work in Paris. Currently the world No 71 doubles player, she also claimed 240 ranking points to leap to 61st in the live standings.
Reaching the quarter-finals would have been worth another €18,500 and 190 points, but Chong and Erjavec made the worst possible start against their unseeded opponents.