The players will compete in men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles and mixed doubles events at the week-long tournament at Phu Tho Tennis Club, Ward 15, District 11, HCM City.
Notably, the event features Vietnamese-American Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, who ranked 197th in the ATP rankings, promising a great challenge for the top players in Vietnam to vie for the championship title.
Busy competing abroad, Vietnam No.1 tennis player Ly Hoang Nam will be absent from the tournament. The tournament has a notable presence of 1995-born Thai-Son, who has joined Hung Thinh HCM City club to play in the tournament for the first time ever. With a slot in the Top 200 in the world, the 24-year-old is also the top seed in the men's singles.
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The Vietnam National Championships - Hung Thinh Cup 2019 features Vietnamese-American Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, who ranked 197th in the ATP rankings. (Photo provided by Vietnam Tennis Federation)
The event also sees the participation of other strong domestic players, such as No. 2 seed Nguyen Van Phuong, Hoang Thanh Trung (both from Hai Dang Tay Ninh Club), No. 5 seed Tu Le Khanh Duy (Becamex Binh Duong), Pham Minh Tuan (Hung Thinh HCM City) and No. 4 seed Nguyen Dac Tien (Hanoi).
In the men's doubles, Thai-Son will couple with prominent Le Quoc Khanh to form the No. 1 seed duo for Hung Thinh HCM City. Meanwhile, in the women’s singles, French-Vietnamese Alizé Lim will also play in Hung Thinh HCM City and is the top seed. The other strong players in the women's singles are No. 2 seed Tran Thuy Thanh Truc, Dao Minh Trang (both of Hung Thinh HCM City) and No. 3 seed Phan Thi Thanh Binh (Da Nang).
With a strong squad, Hung Thinh HCM City proved their strength on the first day of the tournament, on Sunday, as the home team earned six wins. Nguyen Minh Nhat won an overwhelming 6-0, 6-1 victory over Tran Dai Phat (Da Nang), while young talent Nguyen Quang Vinh also won 6-1, 6-3 against Nguyen Tri Cong (the Army team). Tran Anh Tuan, Truong Vinh Hien, Nguyen Nhat Quang, Pham Dang Son and duo Ngo Hung Thuan/Nguyen Minh Nhat also claimed victories for the hosts.
Monday fixtures will feature key matches, seeing No. 1 seed Thai-Son meet Pham Tuan Long (Da Nang), while No. 2 seed Nguyen Van Phuong (Hai Dang Tay Ninh) face host player Nguyen Nhat Quang. Top female seed Alizé Lim will also play her opening match against Tran Thi Tra My (DTTC Son La).
The tournament, which runs until October 26, is hosted by the Vietnam Tennis Federation in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports and the Ho Chi Minh City Tennis Federation.
It aims to help players hone their skills and evaluate preparations for the selection to the national team participating in the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines later next month.
