Despite his concerted efforts, Ly Hoang Nam could not defeat in-form Chun Hsin Tseng.

18-year-old Tseng emerged as a tough challenger throughout the competition. En route to the decisive encounter, he brilliantly beat Jirat Navasirisomboon (Thailand), who once ousted Vietnam’s Ly Hoang Nam in the 2017 SEA Games semis, in the opening round, before impressing with continuous victories, especially the 2-1 semifinal triumph against the US no. 2 seed, Alexios Halebian.

Previously, in January, the Chinese Taipei tennis star also made it through to the last match of the Australian Open Junior Championships, one of the four Junior Grand Slam tourneys. With his superior physical endurance and strength, accompanied by an astute playing style, Tseng was expected to pose numerous difficulties for Hoang Nam in his bid to secure a solitary title for the host country.

Reality proved it was true, as the Vietnamese tennis ace made many unforced errors, enabling his Chinese Taipei opponent to claim the first set at 6-3.

Ly Hoang Nam receives US$1,232 in prize money for his second-place finish.

In the second set, Hoang Nam regained his patience and promptly went ahead 4-1. However, he could not preserve that advantage, as Tseng equalized twice at 5-5 and 6-6 before winning the nail-biting tie-break to seal a final 6-3, 7-6(0) victory to claim the overall trophy.

Despite finishing as the runner-up, Ly Hoang Nam still accumulated ten additional rating points to his ATP ranking. After the F1 Futures tournament, Nam will continue to attend the Vietnam F2 Futures as the no. 1 seed of the men’s singles category.

Source: NDO