OVERCOMING muscle soreness, Alberto Lim Jr. repulsed Meng Cing-yan of Chinese Taipei, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, Saturday to rule the Delhi ITF junior tennis championships for his second straight title this year.
The seventh-seeded Lim, the 15-year-old ace from Matatalaib, Tarlac, refused to yield despite dropping the opening set to capture the Grade 2 tourney just a week after winning a Grade 3 meet in Chandigarh.
On the rebound from an injury-plagued year, Lim is expected to rise further in the world rankings. He already rose to 149 following last week’s triumph.
“When I got injured I was on the edge of quitting because of frustration,” Lim said. “But I really pushed myself hard and worked hard on my training.”
Mentored by veteran national coach Martin Misa, Lim quickly went to social media Saturday afternoon to announce his conquest.
Lim actually complained of muscle pain in the right leg during the final, but that hardly mattered as he shone in the outdoor meet played on hard courts.
Lim toppled top seed Yuya Ito, 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4) in the semifinals in a repeat of their title showdown last week in Chandigarh.
Another Filipino, Eric Olivarez Jr., also saw action in the meet but dropped a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 decision to Meng. The Taiwanese also defeated second seed Alexis Canter of Great Britain (6-4, 6-4) to make the final.
As in the previous week, Lim left a trail of Indian victims en route to the title. He ousted Nikshep Ballkere Ravikumar, 6-2, 6-2, in the first round, Arjun Ramakrishnan, 6-2, 6-2, in the second round and Nitin Kumar Sinha, 6-4, 6-1, in the quarterfinals.
Lim will see action in the pro circuit next week in Sri Lanka. Marc Anthony Reyes