MANILA, Philippines - Alberto “AJ” Lim flashed top form to demolish third seed Wu Yibing of China, 6-0, 6-3, yesterday and snare the China Junior 14 crown in Nanjing, China.
The top-seeded Lim, 16, dropped only two sets throughout the Grade 1 tournament as he beat Zhao RunYu of China, 6-3, 6-1, Vorachon Rakpuangchon of Thailand, 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, Ching Lam of Hong Kong, 6-1, 6-0, Lu Chengze of China, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Mentored by Martin Misa and backed by the Philippines Sports Commission, Lim drew an opening round bye.
With Indian Nikshep Ballekere Ravikumar, he took the doubles title via a walkover over the top seeded pair of Wu Ting-lin of Taiwan and Wu Yibing of China.
It was Lim’s third singles crown and fourth doubles title this year as he primes up for a series of men’s tournaments next year to barge into the top 40 of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior rankings.
The upcoming Filipino star is also scheduled to see action in the Canadian Open – his last stop before the US Open.
He made it to the Wimbledon last month but was eliminated in the second round.
On their way to the doubles win, Lim and Nikshep earned a first round bye before whipping Kittirat and Phongsapak Kerdlaphee of Thailand, 7-6 (1), 6-0, Lu Chengze and Wu Hao of China, 3-6, 7-5, 10-8, and Lu Yi Zhou and Wang Chukang of China, 6-2, 6-3.