La Hunn wins first match in Week 2 of J30 in Fiji

La Hunn Lam debuted strong in Week 2 of the International Tennis Federation’s J30 tournament last Monday in Lautoka, Fiji.

The 14-year-old CNMI netter beat New Zealand’s Alvin Na in the first round of the boys 18 division, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

“I was losing 4-1 in the first set but I came back. It was 6-5 for the New Zealand player and he had two set points but I never gave up and won the game and won the tiebreaker, 7-4. In the second set I was playing more consistent and more aggressive than the other player,” he said.

Lam said it also helped that he was “playing more consistent and smarter and also not giving him (Na) a chance to attack me by moving him around the court,” after he went down big in the opening set.

He then thanked his family, CNMI national coach Jeff Race, the CNMI tennis national team, and all his friends for their continued support in his tennis career.

Lam’s campaign on Week 2 of the J30 tournament continued with a loss to Australia’s Bryan Dickson, 2-6, 1-6.

In the doubles, he and Junhyuk Seo of South Korea were beaten by China’s Junzhang Fu and Yulin Li, 2-6, 0-6.

The week before in Week 1 of the J30 tourney, Lam lost both in the singles and doubles. He lost a 4-6, 4-6 decision against Aussie Benjamin Chisholm before he and Hiva Kelley of Tahiti dropped a 3-6, 3-6 match against Jacob Cairncross and Harry Forsyth, also of Australia.

“I played pretty good for singles match but I wasn’t playing well enough tactically and lost 6-4 6-4, but I learned something after the match so it was a good experience. I played doubles with Hiva Kelley, who is a good friend of mine and we played really good. We had one game that we were up, 40-15, and another game that we were up 40-0. We couldn’t get the break off of our opponents’ serve and they broke us two times. I think we should have come to the net more and won the important points. Overall, the first week was a good tactical experience,” said Lam.

When asked how it felt as a 14-year-old playing in the J30 tourney against older and more experienced tennis players, Lam said the experience was invaluable.

“The level of ITF J30 is pretty good since it’s under 18. Most of the good players are in their 17s and they are well experienced. I am trying to keep my returns with a shorter back swing because their first serves are big and I have to keep my shots selection good to win more games. It’s a very good experience for me to improve my game tactically,” he said.

CNMI national coach Jeff Race gave kudos to Lam for toughing it out against an older and more experienced field in Fiji.

“La Hunn has played in at least four ITF tournaments before this. He’s getting better all the time and it’s just a matter of time before he gets his first points. He has another one in Fiji next week (Week 2) and three in May. He’ll play the two in Guam and one on Saipan.”