Ly Hoang Nam wins against world top 200 player for the first time

Currently, Wu Tung Lin is 129 places above Ly Hoang Nam on the ATP rankings. In their most recent confrontation, the Taiwanese player won 6-2, 7-5 in the semi-finals of the Matsuyama Challenger 80 in 2022.

This year, Wu climbed to 158th ATP and participated in the qualifying rounds of all four Grand Slams, including the second qualifying round at Wimbledon. He lost 1-2 to world No. 120 Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first qualifying round of the US Open, then traveled to China for the Shanghai Masters 100, where he was seeded No. 5.

Before meeting Ly Hoang Nam, Wu Tung-Lin had a hard-fought victory over Fajing Sun of China 7-6, 3-6, 6-2. The match this afternoon was similar to their last meeting, with Wu using his serve to gain the upper hand. Hoang Nam was broken in game six with two net shots before losing 3-6. In the five games Wu served, Nam only won five points.

The positive factor is that the Vietnamese player is more confident in returning serves than before, plays persistently and is ready to attack with difficult shots. Besides, he had nine aces compared to Wu's two throughout the match.

In the second set, Hoang Nam won the second game with a forehand down the line to score the decisive point. In the fourth game, when Wu made two errors, the Vietnamese player lobbed the ball over his head to lead 40-0, then won the second game with a serve. Hoang Nam made no mistake to win 6-1.

In the third set, Hoang Nam played better and better, while Wu kept making mistakes. In the third game, the Taiwanese player made his third double fault of the match, allowing Hoang Nam to win the serve and lead 2-1. This was also the turning point for the Vietnamese player to win 6-2.

Winning 2-1, Ly Hoang Nam defeated a player in the ATP top 200 for the first time, and also entered the quarterfinals of a Challenger 100 tournament for the first time. This was a great encouragement for Hoang Nam after more than half a year of consecutive early losses in Challenger tournaments.

In the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters 100, he will face the winner of the pair Mikalai Haliak (Russia) and second seed Yosuke Watanuki (Japan). The achievement in the quarterfinals will help Hoang Nam secure 20 more points on the ATP rankings, along with a prize of 3,570 USD (about 85 million VND).