Lim, Mendoza a win shy of main draw

Rising Filipino tennis stars Alberto Lim Jr., and Jurence Zosimo Mendoza barged into the qualifying round finals of the Hong Kong ITF Futures 4 at Victoria Park.

The 17-year-old Lim, ranked No. 45 in world juniors, drubbed Chinese Taipei’s Tsai Chung-han, 6-4, 6-4, to progress against India’s Koonwar Gupta.

Mendoza, the 20-year-old stalwart from Oklahoma State, crushed Timothy Kwok Yuen of Great Britain, 6-0, 6-0.

The third-year business management student, will face top-seeded American Gary Kushnirovich.

They are one win away from making it to the main draw of the tournament strewn with regular pro campaigners.

“This is a big step for me because next year I will have a mix of tournaments in the pro circuit as well as play my last year in juniors,” said Lim, who reached the quarterfinals of the Eddie Herr International Juniors last week in Florida.

Lim slid from 12th to 45 because he only played in 10 events compared to 23 in 2015.

“But I plan to go all out in 2017. I will play in all Grand Slam juniors and ITF Futures. I think it’s doable,” Lim added.

The Tarlac native hopes to gain inroads in the Australian Open, where Francis Casey Alcantara won in doubles in 2009 and Jeson Patrombon reached the singles quarterfinals the next year. —MARC ANTHONY REYES