By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
Qualifier AJ Lim dumped Australia’s Jeremy Jin, 6-4, 6-3, to barge into the quarterfinals of the M15 Tianjin International Tennis Federation (ITF) tournament in China on Thursday, July 4.
The Southeast Asian Games bronze medalist survived Jin’s hard serves to inch closer to the title in this $15,000 event.
The victory arranged Lim a meeting with another Australian in fourth seed Moerani Bouzige, who needed an extra set in surviving local wildcard bet Dong Zhenxiong, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Prior to his triumph over Jin, Lin had to defeat Sheng Jianhao, 6-2, 6-0; Gao Zihan, 6-3, 6-2; and Hong Kong’s Ki Lung Ng, 6-3, 6-3, in the qualifiers then stunned Chinese fifth seed Mo Yecong, 6-3, 7-6 (2), in the opening round of the main draw.
His latest feat already matched his previous best performance this year of a quarters finish in the first leg of this M15 Tianjin event late last month.
The 25-year-old Lim, who has also played for the PH Davis Cup team, hopes to finally nail his first pro title.
He excelled in his junior years, going up as high as No. 12 in the ITF rankings while seeing action in all four Grand Slam events.
He is currently No. 1572 in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles rankings.
