Before the match, Marchenko was considered a big challenge for Nam. The Ukrainian player is among the seeded, once ranked 49th in the world and even entered the 4th round of the US Open 2016.
However, Nam played an impressive and persistent match to defeat the player that is 20 places higher than him on the ATP rankings (No. 308 vs No. 328).
In the first set, the top Vietnamese tennis star lost a break in game 9 leading to a 4-6 loss. He came back stronger in the second set, breaking his opponent two serve games in a row, winning 6-1 and bringing the match back to balance.
The next set witnessed a tug-of-war in game 4, Nam served poorly, helping Marchenko to lead 40-0. However, the Vietnamese player scored five consecutive points to bring the score to 2-2.
Winning an ace then helped the Vietnamese player play more confidently. In game 11, the two players struggled with each point and brought the score to 40-40 six times.
Hoang Nam was loyal to his durable playing style, hitting the physical weakness of his 35-year-old opponent. Marchenko then made a mistake to help Hoang Nam win the set point, then closed the game with a forehand, breaking to lead 6-5.
In the deciding game, Hoang Nam served well, while Marchenko repeatedly made mistakes. The 25-year-old player took the upper hand of the mental advantage, winning another ace to finally beat his opponent after 2 hours and 34 minutes of play.
Overcoming the 8th seed, Hoang Nam continues to face a difficult challenge in the quarterfinals tomorrow, as he will face No. 1 seed Alastair Gray, who is 1m93 tall and ranked 256 in the world.
The British player won 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in the second round when defeating Russian opponent Evgeny Donskoy.
Previously, in the first round, Ly Hoang Nam defeated Australian player Dayne Kelly 2-0 (6-4, 7-6).
After four championships at ITF Men's World Tennis professional tournaments, Nam took it to the next level, as he attended the ATP Challenger Bangkok Open in Thailand, to improve his ranking.
The event, with total prize money of 37,520 USD, takes place from August 21 to 27. Hoang Nam goes straight to the main round but was not seeded.
