Ly Hoang Nam makes quarterfinals in Italy

Vietnam’s Ly Hoang Nam was named a quarter-finalist in the boys’ singles event of the Grade A 56° Trofeo Bonfiglio tournament in Milan, Italy after managing to fend off Chinese Taipei Wu Tung-lin in the third round on Thursday.

Top Vietnamese tennis player Ly Hoang Nam

Nam, placed 14th in the ITF Junior rankings, boasted his strength as a No. 8 seed by easily claiming the first set 6-1 over much lower-rated Wu, who sits 80th in the world.

Despite a slow start, Wu came back strong in the second set holding Nam to consecutive draws of 3-3, 5-5 and 6-6, forcing it to be decided in a tie-breaker.

Wu rallied to a 4-1 lead in the tie-breaker only to see his equalising hopes shattered by Nam, who scored six consecutive points to win 2-0 overall after nearly two hours of play.

Earlier on Wednesday, Nam recorded a second-round victory against American Vasil Kirkov with scores of 7-5 and 6-2.

In the quarterfinals, Nam will take on top seed and world No. 2, Orlando Luz of Brazil, who secured his berth with a 2-0 win (7-6, 6-3) over Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in the third round.

The tournament, played on clay, is taking in Milan from May 18 to 24 attracting many of the world’s leading young players. It is considered a perfect rehearsal for Vietnam’s Ly Hoang Nam ahead of the 2015 Roland Garros Junior in Paris from May 31 to June 6.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)