MANILA, Philippines - Youthful AJ Lim humbled veteran Johnny Arcilla, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, yesterday to arrange a title showdown with defending champion PJ Tierro in the men’s singles of the 34th Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Open-Cebuana Lhuillier Wildcard Event at the PCA’s Plaza Dilao clay courts in Paco, Manila.
The 16-year-old Lim bounced back from a second set defeat with a strong showing in the decider, coming through with powerful forehand winners and solid baseline game to stun the eight-time champion Arcilla and gain a crack at a first-ever PCA crown.
“I came into our match with a mindset of focusing on what I can do. In the first set I played calm but I lost my concentration in the second,” said Lim, who has toughened up by campaigning in the world junior circuit.
“I’m happy I regained my composure in the third set, which really helped me a lot,” added Lim, who lost to Arcilla in the quarters here last year.
“I try to learn from my losses and past experiences and try to improve each game,” said Lim, who won in the India ITF Junior 1 and Delhi ITF Juniors in January and China Junior 14 in Nanjing in August this year.
While Lim went through a wringer to advance, Tierro got a free ride to the finals after semis rival Enebert Anasta forfeited his game due to personal reasons.
But Tierro is expected to use his experience and power against Lim as he guns for back-to-back title romp in the annual event backed by Cebuana Lhuillier, Puma, Dunlop and The Philippine STAR.
“He (Lim) has improved a lot from the last time I saw him play. I need to play harder to beat him. I expect a tough match,” said Tierro.
Lim also shocked former Australian Open juniors doubles champion Francis Casey Alcantara in the quarterfinals.
For making it to the finals, Lim and Tierro gained automatic berths to the main draw of the 2015 Manila International Tennis Federation Men’s Futures Leg 2 starting Oct. 13 at the same venue.