TENNIS EVENT OFFERS LOCAL STAR CHANCE TO ASCEND ATP LADDER
National champion Do Minh Quan drew the wild card for the main draw in the US380,000 Vietnam Open, the first ATP tennis tournament to be held in this emerging nation for whom the event signals entry into the kleigh-lit world of international tennis.
The preliminary rounds, which feature two other Vietnamese players in Ngo Quang Huy and Le Quoc Khanh, begins at the newly built Pho Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow. The main event starts on September 26 and ends on October 2.
The tournament affords the 21-year-old Minh Quan, national champion three years in a row, to test his mettle in a field whose high voltage will be provided by the presence of players like Mariano Puerta of Argentina, ranked 10th in the ATP list, and Thomas Johansson of Sweden, ranked 15th.
The tournament, brought to Vietnam by an agreement between the Ho Chi Minh Sports Department and Bec Tero, Thailand’s leading entertainment company, in tandem with International Tennis Professionals (ITP), will provide this nation of 80 million global media coverage in over 100 countries. The spin-offs in terms of tourism and trade are enormous.
But for Minh Quan the beginnings of an entry to journeyman’s status on the ATP circuit, a tempting prospect for Southeast Asian players, beckon.
“We are indeed glad that he has got this rare chance to enter this highly competitive field,” said Nghe Phat Dat, a senior official in the tennis division of Ho Chih Minh City Sports Department.
“It’s for him to make all the running from this point on,” added Phat Dat, in obvious allusion to the fact that this event willl be an annual affair in the country’s sports calendar.
This view is endorsed by Brian L Marcar, Managing Director of BEC Tero Entertainment. “The Vietnam Open affords Vietnamese players like Minh Quan the opportunity to raise their profile and prospects on the international circuit,” commented Marcar.
He added: “Also, the perception of Vietnam as a destination for world class sport will grow with cascade effects in tourism and trade. This is another uptick in the country’s quest for global recognition.”
Sasson Khakshouri, President of ITP, ventured the prediction that the Vietnam Open will become a ble riband event on the tennis circuit in Asia, emulating boosting effect that certain golf events on the continent gave Asian players in recent years.
