Lim pulls off twin victories in China ITF Jr tilt

Screengrab from Albert Lim Jr.’s Instagram post.

Filipino junior tennis hotshot Alberto Lim Jr. stunned China’s top ranked player Wu Yibing, 6-0, 6-1, Sunday in boys singles finals to capture the both divisions in the China Junior 14 Grade 1 tournament in Nanjing.

The 16-year-old Lim, who has won two other ITF singles titles of the same level this year, exploded in both singles and doubles where he partnered with Indian Nikshep Ballevere Ravikumar for the crown.

“I really played very well in the final (singles) unlike in the previous rounds where it was mostly close fights,” said the Tarlac native who vowed to concentrate in tennis for the meantime but promised to resume his studies later.

Lim’s trademark aggressiveness and tenacity on the court helped him get through the tough draws in the tourney that lured the best junior players in the region.

“He (Wu) is the best player in China (in his age-division). This is a very high level tournament that’s why the players are also tough,” added Lim, who is mentored by former PH coach Martin Misa.

Ranked 45th in the world in singles — and expected to even rise further — Lim dumped China’s Zhao RunYu (6-3, 6-1) in the first round, Thai Vorachon Rakpungchon (5-7, 6-2, 6-3) in the second round, Hong Kong’s Lam Ching (6-1, 6-0) in the quarterfinals before beating China’s Lu ChangZe (6-4, 2-6, 6-4) in the semifinals.

“It was very hot here but I felt very confident,” said Lim who clearly showed that in disposing of the 15-year-old Wu in the final.

With Ravikumar in doubles, they walked over Wu and the injured Wu Tung-lin of Chinese Taipei in the final.

But that was before they downed Thai brothers Kittirat and Phongsapak Kerdlaphee (7-6 (7-1), 6-0), Chinese Lu ChingZe and Wu Hao (3-6, 7-5 (10-8), and another Chinese pair in Liu Zhou Yi and Wang ChuKang (6-2, 6-3).