Ly Hoang Nam suffered a comeback defeat against an opponent ranked nearly 500 places lower.

Australia: Vietnam's number one tennis player Ly Hoang Nam lost to world number 1032 Jumpei Yamasaki 1-2 in the first round of the M25 Gold Coast tournament.

Hoang Nam is ranked 469 places higher than Yamasaki in the ATP professional rankings. The two players, both born in 1997, have met once before at the Vietnam F6 Futures tournament, where Hoang Nam won 2-0.

In the rematch on November 28th, despite losing her serve early in the first set, the Vietnamese player quickly regained control and showcased her class to secure two breaks and lead 5-2. At that moment, heavy rain began to fall in Gold Coast, causing the match to be postponed until this morning, November 29th.

Vietnam's number one tennis player, Ly Hoang Nam. Photo: VTF

The match resumed with Yamasaki serving and the two players tied 40-40, but a single unforced error and a double fault from the Japanese player allowed Nam to secure a third break and win the first set 6-2. However, the postponement of the match affected Hoang Nam's momentum for the remainder of the game.

Yamasaki's serve wasn't good in this match, but Hoang Nam fared even worse, committing six double faults throughout the game. In the second set, the Vietnamese player lost his service games in the first, third, and fifth games. His efforts to win return games in the fourth and sixth games weren't enough to bring the set back to a tie, and he had to accept a 4-6 defeat.

In the decisive third set, after both players held their service games to a 2-2 tie, Hoang Nam made a double fault, lost confidence, and lost the fifth game completely. The Vietnamese player broke back immediately in the next game but once again made the same serving error in games seven and nine, thus losing 3-6.

This is the third time in 2023 that Ly Hoang Nam has been eliminated in the first round of an M25 tournament. Previously, he lost to George Loffhagen, a British player ranked 457 places lower, 0-2 at the M25 Mysuru in India at the end of March. In mid-June, Nam lost to Orel Kimhi, an Israeli player ranked 314 places lower, 1-2 at the M25 Nakhon si Thammarat in Thailand.

After a year of competing continuously in ATP and Challenger tournaments, Ly Hoang Nam returned to the ITF system, but his best performance was reaching the quarterfinals at the M25 Hua Hin (Thailand) and M25 Brisbane (Australia). From 244th at the beginning of 2023, Ly Hoang Nam dropped 319 places to 563rd on November 27th.

Besides Ly Hoang Nam, young talent Vu Ha Minh Duc also participated in the M25 Kalaburagi in India. The 20-year-old, ranked 1,845th in the ATP, won two consecutive matches to qualify for the main draw of the M25 tournament for the first time without a wildcard. However, Minh Duc was eliminated after losing to home player Kabir Hans 1-2.

Hieu Luong

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