An emotional Coleman Wong Chak-lam claimed the biggest win of his career on Saturday, upsetting 13th seed Ben Shelton in the third round of the Miami Open, and then said “this is for you Hong Kong”.

The Hong Kong wild card, who is ranked of 182nd in the world, battled his way to a 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 victory despite letting the third-ranked American and world No 14 fight back from 5-2 down in the final set.

Victory gives Wong a place in the third round of a Masters 1000 for the first time in his career, and he continues making history as the first Hong Kong player to win at that level.

But it did not come easy, with Wong admitting to being “overwhelmed” when serving for the match at 5-3 up in the final set.

Shelton then saved two match points at 6-5 to force a tiebreak, but hooked a forehand wide at 5-5 and Wong kept his nerve to belt a first-serve winner past the American.

“I always trust myself to play in these big stages … I had a tough time [during] the Covid times,” Wong said. “I didn’t play for a year-and-a-half and I’m really lucky my team keeps supporting me. I’m really happy and this is for you, Hong Kong.”