Dino was unlucky, drawing Yuki Bambri – the number one seed, in the first round of the singles. Yuki was as high as 5 in the world earlier on in the year, making semis of the Australian Open juniors. Against all odds, Dino played a very good match and showed he was able to compete with the top players in the world. Dino lost the first set 6-2 although he had several opportunities. In the second set Dino came from 4-2 down to hold, break and hold again to take a 5-4 lead. He played some very solid aggressive tennis and was returning 5-4 up with Yuki serving at 0-30 down. Yuki played smart and served well when he needed to and was just a little too solid on the day. Dino was pretty upset, knowing that he needed to go for it a little more when he was given opportunities. Yuki’s coach was very complimentary of Dino’s match and said he would look forward to seeing him in the slams next year. Partnering with Canadian Kelsey Stevenson, the boys came back from a set down and a break in the second to win 10-7 in the super tie breaker in the third. This is a huge confidence boost for Dino and he will look to carry this form on to his doubles match later today against two players in the top 70 in the world. The standard of tennis has been fantastic and motivating. Dino will now look to return to HK for the South China Men’s open where he made the finals last year. Signing out from sunny Osaka.
