PPA Hangzhou Earthquake: Li Huangnan defeated world number 2 and advanced to the final

Ly Hoang Nam unexpectedly defeated world champion Federico Staksrud, thereby winning a ticket to the final match of the PPA Hangzhou Open.

Ly Hoang Nam played with great courage and intelligence.

On the morning of December 5, Ly Hoang Nam (third seed) entered the biggest challenge at the PPA Hangzhou Open (held in Hangzhou, China), when he had to face first seed Federico Staksrud in the semi-finals.

Staksrud is ranked second in the world and is one of the strongest players to have ever competed in PPA tournaments held in Asia. Meanwhile, Ly Hoang Nam, although seeded third, has never won the men's singles championship in the PPA Asia Tour system.

Ly Hoang Nam creates earthquakes

PHOTO: PPA HANGZHOU

The 1996-born tennis player was rated lower in terms of physique, experience and technique against opponents of the highest level.

However, Ly Hoang Nam created the biggest surprise of the tournament when he defeated Staksrud after only 2 sets in the semi-finals. With a smart strategy, fully exploiting Staksrud's backhand and speeding up the net, Ly Hoang Nam won 11-7 in the first set. In the second set, Staksrud switched to a more persistent play, pulling the ball to Hoang Nam's backhand and was close to winning when leading 9-8. However, on a day of excellent backhand handling, especially when pushed to the corner of the court, Hoang Nam deflected Staksrud's net shots.

Hoang Nam equalized at 9-9, then fought back after three serves at 10-10. He closed out the win with a clever move to the net, in a situation where Staksrud no longer had enough confidence to go to the net and could only endure the match at the back of the court.

Ly Hoang Nam's victory is a symbol of the rise of Vietnamese pickleball. The 29-year-old player used his stability, flexibility, endurance and smart judgment to read the second strongest player in the world. His psychological weakness (which caused Hoang Nam to lose to Trinh Linh Giang and Truong Vinh Hien) was also completely overcome when Hoang Nam overcame the most difficult turns of the match, when Staksrud played with a spirit of having nothing to lose at the end of set 2.

Ly Hoang Nam's opponent in the final of the PPA Hangzhou Open is Jack Wong (Hong Kong), who defeated Truong Vinh Hien in the first semi-final.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dia-chan-ppa-hang-chau-ly-hoang-nam-ha-so-2-the-gioi-thang-tien-chung-ket-185251205115842966.htm