Vietnamese pair win Men’s Futures doubles crown

Ly Hoang Nam and Nguyen Hoang Thien brought home the first professional tennis title for Vietnam after pairing-up to beat the second-seeded duo Gao Xin (China) and Imai Shintaro (Japan) 2-0 in the doubles final at the 2016 Vietnam F5 Men’s Futures tournament on September 24.

Hoang Thien and Hoang Nam represented Vietnam in the doubles competition.
Hoang Thien and Hoang Nam represented Vietnam in the doubles competition.

Despite being considered the underdogs, Thien and Nam started the match off in high pace and went on to win both sets with the same score of 7-6(7-4) after one hour and 45 minutes of play, thus becoming the overall champions in a convincing manner.

Earlier on their lead up to the final, the Vietnamese pair successfully handled tough challenges from top seeds of Thailand and no. 3 seeds from China and Japan.

After Thien and Nam secured Vietnam the Men’s Futures doubles crown, General Secretary of the Vietnam Tennis Federation Nguyen Quoc Ky presented VND50 million (US$2,250) to the duo as a bonus for their exceptional performance.

In the singles event, Ly Hoang Nam has made it through to the final following his fantastic 2-0 (6-2, 6-4) win over no. 4 seed Gao Xin of China, becoming the first Vietnamese tennis player to enter the decisive clash of a Men’s Futures tournament.

Nam’s final opponent is Shiga Masato from Japan, who beat fellow teammate Ito Yuichi 4-6, 6-0, 6-0 in the remaining semifinal match.

Hoang Thien falls down to the ground after the victory.

Hoang Nam celebrates the historic triumph.