The No. 2-seeded pairing of Jessica Yang and Feng Yi-Di has basically overpowered their opponents in the earlier rounds, as evidenced by the fact that they have dropped a mere eight games in three matches prior to the title match.

In the final against the third-seeded tandem of former WTA No. 578, Chattida Thimjapo, and 12-year-old Katherine Ip, however, it was an entirely different story. The No. 2 seeds could not overpower the dogged resistance of their opponents, even when they laid siege and controlled the forecourt with Chat and Katherine back deep behind their baseline.

That said, Jessica Yang and Feng Yi-Di dominated the early going and jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening set before the third-seeded duo fought back to a much more respectable score of 6-4.

"After the first set, I said to Katherine just hang in there. If they're going to beat us, they'll have to work their socks off," said Chat. "I really didn't expect us to win and we just tried to help each other out there on court. But you know Katherine has great hands and her lobs were just magnificent that night. She can lob all day long without giving away an easy put-away."

Chat was a member of the Thai women's team that won a gold medal at the 22nd SEA Games in Vietnam in 2003. Other players on that team were Suchanan Viratprasert, Nappaporn Tongsalee, and Wilawan Choptang.

Astute placement and exquisite defense by the No. 3 seeds began to work its mojo even after they had dropped the opening set, 6-4. Nevertheless, that merely leveled the playing field somewhat, as it was still a drawn-out dog fight till the very end. In fact, Chattida Thimjapo and Katherine Ip were up by a break and served for the match at 5-4 in the third but the No. 2 seeds manage to pull back to 5-5.

Then, in the ensuing tiebreak, Jessica Yang and Feng Yi-Di had three match points when the duo led 6-3, but good team work by the third seeds won them five straight points to eventually see them through, with young Katherine Ip winning the final point for, 8-6.

Final score: 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(6).

Albeit triumphing in doubles, and unless records suggest otherwise, Katherine Ip joins Paulette Moreno (CRC Ladies' Singles, 1981) as the only players to capture a local major before their 13th birthday.

As a matter of fact, Katherine Ip turned 12 just three months ago.

Patricia Hy (CRC Ladies' Singles, 1978), Willy Chan (SCAA Ladies' Singles, 1990) and Jackie Fu (SCAA Ladies' Singles, 1991) have all captured local majors as 13-year-olds, while Venise Chan (SCAA Ladies' Singles, 2003) and Geraldine Leong (SCAA Ladies' Singles, 2005) have won local majors as 14-year-olds.

At the time of writing, play has yet to begin with the Men's Singles or Doubles, but with Wayne Wong and Yu Hiu Tung sorely missing from action, reigning SCAA and CRC Open champion, Goran Bosalevski, the number one seed, is the favourite heading towards the final week at Victoria Park.

Nonetheless, Michael Lai came closest to beating Goran at the recently completed CRC Open 2007 when he served for the match at a set up and 5-4 in the second before the former Macedonia Davis Cupper fought back to win their semifinal encounter in a third set tiebreak, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(2). Should they meet again at VP this time round, however, it will be for the title since they are seeded at the opposite ends of the draw.

In the mixed doubles, No. 4 seeds Roland Liu and Chattida Thimjapo defeated juniors Chau Kwan Lam and Leung Lok Sze in straight sets to advance to the final where they will face fifth-seeded Nathan Booth and Yang Yi for the title.

In the Men' B Singles, No. 7 seed Lam Wing Lun defeated Tyler Leung, 6-0, 7-6(5), in the final to lift the title. However, both finalists had to endure tough semifinals in the previous round, with Lam Wing Lun overcoming No. 3 seed Ricky Hui, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, while Tyler Leung beat Yeung Pak Long, 6-4, 7-5.

In the Men's B Doubles, seeds ruled the day, as No. 1 Ricky Hui and Tyler Leung defeated No. 2 Kenneth Ip and Fong Ka Chun, 6-3, 6-4, to win the title.

Results
HK National Tennis Championships 2007
Victoria Park Tennis Courts
17 Nov – 16 Dec 2007

PURE LADIES' OPEN SINGLES FINAL
(2)Jessica Yang d. (q)Feng Yi-Di 6-1 6-0

LADIES' DOUBLES FINAL
(3)Chattida Thimjapo/Katherine Ip d. (2)Jessica Yang/Feng Yi-Di 4-6 6-4 7-6(6)

MEN'S B SINGLES FINAL
(7)Lam Wing Lun d. Tyler Leung 6-0 7-6(5)

MEN'S B DOUBLES FINAL
(1)Ricky Hui/Tyler Leung d. (2)Kenneth Ip/Fong Ka Chun 6-3 6-4