Blinkova, Hong winners at 2nd ITF Junior Masters in Sichuan

South Korea's Seong Chan Hong and Russia's Anna Blinkova (center) show their trophies at the closing ceremony of the second ITF Junior Masters. [Photo by Huang Zhiling/China Daily]

The second ITF Junior Masters came to a conclusion in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Sunday, with Anna Blinkova from Russia winning the women's title and Seong Chan Hong from South Korea the men's title.

Blinkova defeated Katie Swan from Great Britain 6-4, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (4) and second seed Hong outlasted Norway's Casper Ruud with a 7-5, 6-3 win in the Sichuan International Tennis Center in Shuangliu, Sichuan.

Top seeds Swan and Ruud are both aged 17. Although both narrowly missed winning their titles and were frustrated, their easygoing manner fascinated the audience and won them applause.

Impressed with Ruud's obvious offensive advantage, a Chinese journalist asked if he lost because he was tired. Ruud's reply was that he made too many errors and Hong did well in the competition.

In the ensuing closing ceremony, Ruud told the audience several Chinese words and phrases he had learned during his weeklong stay in Sichuan. These included ni hao (hello), xie xie (thanks) and wo ai ni zhong guo (I love you, China).