Tan Jun Sing triumphs in tennis age-group championships singles final

Story by REDintern Ivan Ong. Photos by REDintern Derek Quah

Kallang Tennis Centre, Friday, June 18, 2010 — Singapore’s Tan Jun Sing saw off compatriot Lee Kai Yin 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 in the boys’ singles final of the Singapore Tennis Association-Sports Excellence (STA-SPEX) 2nd Age Group Tennis Championships. In a thrilling two-hour showdown, Tan braved bouts of inclement weather to come out top against first seed Lee.

Jun Sing, who was seeded third, drew first blood when he broke Kai Yin at his first service game. Favourite Kai Yin was clearly struggling to find his rhythm and made a handful of unforced errors. With drizzles starting to fall, Jun Sing quickly established a 4-0 lead before the match was postponed for an hour due to the rain.

Kai Yin came out stronger after the restart, breaking Jun Sing immediately and eventually pulling two games back at 2-4.

With Jun Sing 5-2 up at set point, Kai Ying saved a powerful smash with a brilliant stretch, before winning three games in a row to tie the game in an astonishing turn of events.

At the next set point, however, luck changed hands. With Jun Sing having the advantage at deuce, Kai Ying sent what looked like a routine drop shot straight into the net to gift Jun Sing the first set 7-5 by the narrowest of margins.

Despite the disappointment of losing the first set so narrowly, Kai Ying quickly found his groove once the second set commenced. He let loose a dazzling array of shots which Tan had no reply to. In a one-sided second set, in which Jun Sing was broken thrice, Lee prevailed 6-1.

It all came down to the deciding set.

Jun Sing duly broke Kai Ying first to establish a 2-0 lead, aided by a scintillating series of serves which hit the 160km/h mark. Lee was unable to discover the rich vein of confidence he displayed in the second set, as he made a number of unforced errors and miscued shots. He eventually lost the final set 2-6.

Jun Sing’s game plan for this crucial match was to “not rush” and “take it easy”, he said. He also revealed that although his confidence dipped after an unimpressive second set, he managed to pick himself up to secure the final set.