Daily Journal Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year: Crystal’s Anton Lim

In fact, Lim took down all comers, going 22-0 in winning the WBAL and Central Coast Section singles titles and earning Lim the San Mateo Daily Journal’s Boys’ Tennis Player of the Year honor.

“We had no expectations from Anton, as far as how successful he would be in league,” said Crystal head coach Anthony Jones. “Every team (in the WBAL) has good players at the top. We knew it would be a challenge all season.

“Truthfully, he exceeded expectations.”

Lim, who recently completed his junior year, started as a doubles player his freshman year with the Gryphons, as Brian Bilsey was firmly entrenched at No. 1 singles. Last year, Lim split time between No. 2 and No. 1 singles. After a summer full of junior United States Tennis Association tournaments, Lim believed he was ready to take over the No. 1 spot.

“Given all the progress I made, I felt I earned the No. 1 spot,” Lim said. “For me, the goals (this season) were probably just to improve. Last year, at WBALs, I think I finished fourth. This year, I wanted to get top-3 and qualify for CCS.”

Improve Lim did. He won his first match of the season and just kept on winning. And not just winning, but dominating. Lim lost a total of four sets all season and those didn’t come until the WBAL and CCS playoffs.

“Last summer … he started playing a lot more tournaments,” Jones said. “It’s a big reason for his development. Nothing can replace that (kind) of competition.”

By the time he got to the halfway point of the WBAL season without a loss, Lim started to think he had a chance to finish the regular season undefeated.

“Once we played each team once and started winning, I realized I had a pretty good shot (at winning them all) this year,” Lim said. “If I looked at myself at the start of the season, yeah [my success] surprised me. But as the season went along, I said as long I focused and took it one game at a time, I could win matches.”

Jones credits that success to Lim’s athletic ability which allows him to cover the court, along with a strong forehand and good volley game.

“He’s extremely well-rounded as a player. He’s a really phenomenal all-around player that you just don’t see often nowadays,” Jones said. “He’s always looking to transition and attack and move into the front court.”

But Jones also credits Lim’s ability to take well to coaching and translating it to the court in short order.

“When you’re dealing with special athletes, most coaches are thinking, ‘Don’t screw it up,’” Jones said. “But one of the phenomenal things about Anton is, he takes instruction extremely well and implements it almost immediately.”

Lim continued his winning streak in the WBAL singles tournament, losing just three games over two matches as he rolled into the tournament final.

Facing Pinewood’s Jason Rowe in the WBAL championship match, Lim experienced his first real adversity of year. He won a first-set tiebreaker, 7-5, but dropped the second 4-6 — the first set Lim lost in an individual tournament.

That’s when he drew on everything he learned playing those competitive tournaments last summer, steeling his mental game and blasting through Rowe in a third-set, super tiebreaker, 10-4.

“[Playing tournaments last summer] has been one of the biggest reasons for my improvement. Getting match experience and playing so many (good) players,” Lim said. “Just having more matches under my belt helped me … prepare myself mentally for matches.”

The win also made Lim the WBAL Player of the Year.

He needed his mental game sharp in the CCS tournament. While he was confident he could complete with the others in draw — many of whom he had played against over the summer — he certainly had a tough road.

In the first round, Lim took out No. 2 seed Koosha Safari of Aptos, 6-2, 6-2. In the second round, he took care of St. Francis’ Shiven Mehta, 7-5, 6-1. In the semifinals, Lim faced off with No. 3 seed Lleyton Alonso of Monterey, again winning in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3.

In the championship match, Lim took on top-seeded Charlie Underwood of Half Moon Bay, who had lost only five games in three CCS match.

But Lim was up to the challenge. Like the WBAL final, Lim won the first set, 6-4, but dropped the second, 5-7. The third-set tiebreaker was a marathon, with Lim finally prevailing, 14-12.

“When they released the draw, I knew most of the players from [juniors] tournaments. I knew my game would be competitive,” Lim said. “Once I won my first two matches, I got my confidence up. I knew if I gave it my best, I knew I had a chance to win.”