Top seeds ruled on final day of the Grade 5 Hong Kong ITF Jr Tournament, as No. 1 Gilbert Wong, defeated tenth-seeded Kevin Kung, 6-3, 6-1, to win his first singles title on the ITF World Junior Circuit. Likewise, girls' top seed, Yang Yi, also bagged her first title when she defeated No. 6 seed, Sher Chun Wing, 6-0, 6-4, in another all-Hong Kong final at the Sports Institute earlier yesterday.

In the doubles, Gilbert and Kevin, the third seeds, then combined to beat local pair, Gary Yam and Michael Kwong, 6-3, 6-1, to lift the title, while Sher Chun Wing and Geraldine Leong was handed the girls' equivalent after a walkover from top seeds, Yang Yi and Janaki Gunuganti.

Results  |  Photo Gallery

After a rain-interrupted Friday, both semifinals and finals had to be played yesterday, with Gilbert Wong wasting no time in disposing No. 11 seed, Wong Yat Sing, of Hong Kong in one semifinal, and Kevin Kung ending the giant-killing run of Japan's Ryosuke Yokoyama, 6-3, 6-1. Over in the girls' semis, No. 1 seed Yang Yi defeated fourth seed, Numneung, of Thailand, 6-2, 7-5, while sixth seed Sher Chun Wing saw off regular dpoubles partner, No. 8 seed Geraldine Leong, 7-6(6), 6-1.

In the boys' final, two four-game runs in the early part of each set was enough for Gilbert to set the tone for his first title win on the ITF World Junior Circuit. In the first set, the number one seed broke twice in succession to grab a 5-1 lead before Kevin regained one of those lost breaks while his opponent served for the set. However, it was not enough to extend the opener, as Gilbert belted an ace on his first set point in the ninth game to make it 6-3.

The second set then saw the top seed break early to jumnp out to a 2-1 lead which he never surrendered, and then breaking twice more to end the match on a four-game roll, securing a, 6-3, 6-1, victory.

S e m i f i n a l s / F i n a l s   R e c a p
by HKTA Head Coach, Benny Lin

What a day for the Hong Kong team, as local players swept clean every event. Not only that, every final was an all-Hong Kong affair apart from the girls' doubles! This is definitely a historical achievement for Hong Kong tennis as this is the first time the local juniors were in all the finals across the board in an ITF Jr tournament.

The day started with a few rain patches and the matches did not start until around 12:00 pm. Kevin Kung (17, NTS) who was leading 6-3 and 1-0, wasted no time in finishing off his Japanese counterpart, 6-3, 6-1. Kevin played very aggressively and was very smart in his shot selection. It was a great win for Kevin.

On the girls' side, Yang Yi (18, Tennis Academy) had a comfortable win in her semifinal match despite her worsening sore right shoulder (although second set was close but she was in the driver's seat throughout the match).

In the other semifinal, Sher Chun Wing (14, NTS) who had never beaten Geraldine Leong (14, NTS) before today, did the unthinkable. With her much improved consistency, tactical understanding and mental toughness, she surprised Geraldine's powerful ground strokes and scored the biggest upset of the day. Nonetheless, both girls fought very hard and they both deserved mentioning for their efforts and fighting spirit.

In the boys' final, Gilbert Wong (18, Elite) was just a bit too solid for Kevin Kung today. Kevin did everything he could and gave everything he had but Gilbert was just too good today, in almost every aspect of the game. This was Gilbert's first ever ITF title. The girls' final was a good match. Sher Chun Wing surprised everybody again. She played very good tennis in the second set and gave Yang Yi a good run for her well-deserved victory.

This week's results have been very encouraging for all of us. Our young NTS players have been working very hard in the past 2 months preparing for this event and this week their hard work had paid off.

If only Hong Kong players could play more ITF tournaments, we should see even better results in the not too distant future.

Results
Hong Kong ITF Junior Tournament (G5)
Sports Institute, Shatin
January 16-21, 2006

Boys' Singles Final
(1)Gilbert Wong (HKG) d. (10)Kevin Kung (HKG) 6-3 6-1

Girls' Singles Final
(1)Yang Yi (HKG) d. (6)Sher Chun Wing (HKG) 6-0 6-4

Boys' Doubles Final
(3)Gilbert Wong/Kevin Kung (HKG) d. Gary Yam/Michael Kwong (HKG) 6-3 6-1

Girls' Doubles Final
(3)Geraldine Leong/Sher Chun Wing (HKG) d. (1)Yang Yi/Janaki Gunuganti (HKG/IND) - walkover