Broady, who turns 30 on Thursday, squandered two match points, but quickly recovered his composure to close out a 6-3, 6-3 victory, before declaring Hong Kong “one of my favourite cities in the world”.

“Hong Kong has been deprived of a tournament for too long and I am so pleased tennis has come back here,” Broady told the Post.

“You do not very often see an atmosphere like this in the qualifiers for an ATP 250 competition. The people in Asia love tennis, and the organisers have made a really good effort with the tournament. The courts are freshly painted and the park is a great tennis venue.”

Organisers declined to comment over whether a return of the pollution levels that created a “very high health risk” in the tournament’s Causeway Bay location on Saturday would halt competition.

Readings on the opening day of play were “moderate” so did not threaten the action, and fans took advantage of free entry to fill around half the seats at the main court.

Wild card Wong Tsz-fu lost the opening nine games against world No 75 Daniel, and celebrated with a clenched fist when he put away a volley to get on the board after 45 minutes.

The son of former Hong Kong female number one Tong Ka-po, he won his next two service games, too, but did not force one break point against Daniel’s crafty serve in a 6-3, 6-0 defeat.

“It was a remarkable experience, and I am very pleased I could test my skills, mind and fitness against such a high-level player,” Wong said.

“The intensity was different from anything I have experienced, if you stop, they are going to kill you. I never worried about it being 6-0, 6-0 … I am not Novak Djokovic, I am a kid from Hong Kong with big dreams. As long as I put my heart on the court, I have no regrets.”

Tong admitted watching her son was “harder than being on court myself”. “But I have to get used to it,” she said. “This has shown him the level he has to reach. I am not worried about his technique, I will make sure he grinds and does his fitness work every day.”

Jack Wong, ranked 1,467th in the world, paid for losing five straight games from 4-4 in the opening set, eventually going down 6-4, 6-2 to 144-ranked Terence Atmane of France.

“He stepped up and took charge of the match,” Wong said. “I was so happy to get a wild card. We need big events in Hong Kong, this is the best way to grow the sport.”

Jack Wong said his immediate goal was to help Hong Kong beat Zimbabwe in a Davis Cup tie in February, but he had “no significant plans for the rest of the year”.

Local favourite Coleman Wong Chak-lam, who drew a large audience on his practice court, and doubles partner Zizou Bergs, will play marquee Russian duo Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov, on Monday. Wong faces Lorenzo Musetti of Italy in his opening singles match on Tuesday.

Shang Juncheng, the 18-year-old Chinese, starts Monday’ centre-court proceedings with a first-round tie against Serbia’s Laslo Djere.

Broady, meanwhile, was preparing for more swotting up on Argentine opponent Burruchaga, who he meets second on Court 2.

“I saw him on the practice courts and thought, ‘Who is that’? Broady said. “I did some research, he is obviously a very adept clay courter, and there is no reason that cannot transfer to hard courts. He will be a classic dirtballer and tough to beat. I want to stay around, and play as many matches as possible.”