Big start for Lim, Tanpoco

Filipino rising stars Alberto Lim Jr. and Maika Jae Tanpoco blew past their first round opponents Tuesday in the Nanjing ITF Grade 2 junior tennis championships in China.

Lim drubbed hometown bet Huang Junwei, 6-0, 7-5, while Tanpoco trounced another local player Zhang Yukun, 6-4, 6-0, in the tournament featuring  top players in the region preparing for the coming Asian Youth Games.

The 14-year-old Lim, the highest rated Asian in the 14-under world ranking at 263rd, handily won the first set over the  6-foot Huang who last week scored a title double  by topping the singles and doubles in the China Open.

Huang put up a fight in the next set, breaking Lim for a 4-3 lead before the Filipino broke back. It was a tight contest from there until the Chinese lost steam, yielding the match on a double fault.

Lim will next face fourth-seeded and world No. 90 Tang Chin-chun of Chinese Taipei who disposed of Gao Juntong of China, 6-3, 6-4.

Tanpoco, who at 17 is already competing in the pro circuit and is world No. 282 in the juniors, will take on fourth seed Chinese Yanwang who routed Korean Dabin Kim, 6-1, 6-2.

Lim and Tanpoco, however, lost their respective doubles matches in the opening round.  Marc Anthony Reyes