The inaugural 2026 National Men’s Open concluded with a bang this weekend, and its big winner is Alberto Lim Jr. The tournament’s top seed capped a strong performance with a 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory over No. 2 Eric Jed Olivarez Jr. Sunday night to win the Men’s Open title at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Curiously, Alberto Lim Jr. bared to Rebanse in an exclusive interview that he never saw himself as the top seed or favorite.
“I really don’t look at it that way,” Lim said of being the No. 1 seed. “You know, just for me, I like to be the ‘dark horse’ of the tournament every single time. So, even if rankings-wise I’m the number one, I really don’t treat it like that.”
Well, Alberto Lim Jr. didn’t exactly look like a dark horse during the tournament, as he dominated his way to the title with blowout wins over Kiz Bryan Cinco (6-0, 6-0), Kian John Sanchez (6-1, 6-0), John Jeric Accion (6-0, 6-0), and Rafa Monte de Ramos (6-1, 6-0), among others.
Alberto Lim Jr. Has a Hunter’s Mentality
While Alberto Lim Jr. likes to think of himself more as a dark horse than a favorite, he still admitted that he has a big target on his back.
“The target is against me—but I’d like to think that I’m targeting everyone,” Lim Jr. said.
The former University of the East tennis player added that he approaches his assignments one match at a time and credits his team for preparing for battle.
“I actually don’t look at the draw, I don’t know who I’m playing against yet. You know, I treat it one match at a time,” he said. “Whoever I’m playing against on the other side of the court, I make sure to check it after my matches here. And then my coach, my team, and I would be talking about the game plan for tomorrow.”
Being the Best Version of Alberto Lim Jr.
As Alberto Lim Jr. continues his tennis career, he acknowledged that he’s all about winning every match in front of him and isn’t concerned anymore about expectations.
“Like what I said, I like being the dark horse,” said the former UE Red Warrior. “I don’t really think as the next or whoever is going to be the next… Right now, especially at my age, also with the funding that we really have in men’s tennis, I don’t really have that much expectation.”
“I try to make sure that I’m working as hard as I can, but at the end of the day, I just want to win every single match with no pressure and not thinking that I’m the best,” Lim added.
Well, Alberto Lim Jr. did a lot of winning at the 2026 National Men’s Open for sure—culminating in a well-deserved gold medal.
So much for a dark horse, right?
