Tennis prodigies John Hui Kin-yip and Willy Chan Lee were given hard lessons by more experienced rivals in the Hong Kong National Tennis Championships at Victoria Park.
John was seeded to win the men's title but persistent rain last week disrupted the programme and he became a victim of the tight re-scheduling.
He kicked off his campaign with a 6-1, 6-3 demolition of Ray Ng and then saw off professional tennis coach Murray Bennetto 7-5, 6-4 in the second round.
John then came up against former Philippine Davis Cup player Andrew Battad in the quarter-finals and won 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
But the heavy schedule took its toll on the 17-year-old, who put up a brave fight but was overcome by his mentor Desmond Tyson, and lost 6-2, 7-5.
Tyson went on to lift the title with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Pang Lui, the number two in the Hong Kong Davis Cup team to John. John, however, walked off with a consolation prize - the Furama Cup for best sportsmanship.
