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Australian tennis talent Li Tu fought back tears Sunday as he claimed a maiden ATP Challenger tour title in Seoul, Korea.
The Australian fought through qualifying all the way to the Seoul title, beating two much higher-ranked Aussies along the way – Christopher O’Connell and James Duckworth in the quarters then semis.
The 26-year-old surged over 100 places in the world rankings with the title, taking him to a career-high of 190th in the world.
But that pales in comparison to the heartbreaking journey the Adelaide-born star has undergone in the last two months – losing his mother to cancer in late September.
In an emotional social media post, Tu revealed he had continued training only because his mother had convinced him she was ‘getting better’, and that he travelled to Korea the day after her funeral.
“Today is your birthday Mum. It has been the toughest 2 months of my life. Watching you battle cancer, struggle and fight every day as you slowly lost your senses,” Li Tu wrote.
“Continuing tennis training because you were relentless that I must keep going and you are “getting better”. Being by your side as you took your last breath on 24/09/22 surrounded by our family who love you so much,” he added.
“A few days before you passed, you said to me “I’ll see you in Korea” and I broke down in tears. Coming over to Korea the day after your funeral, I wasn’t sure I could do it but before every match, I looked up at the sky and I couldn’t help but smile when I saw you,” he continued.
He finished the gut-wrenching post by writing: “We did it Mum”.
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