The 21-year-old Quan will meet Bjorn Phau of Germany when the event opens in the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday (September 26). The qualifying rounds from which three players will emerge to be placed in the main draw began today and will end tomorrow.

Top seed Mariano Puerta of Argentina, ranked 10th in the ATP standings, was placed in the top half of the draw and is slated to meet one of the three winners of the qualifying round in his first match.

Second seeded Thomas Johansson of Sweden, placed in the bottom half, has a tougher first round tie against Alexander Popp of Germany.

But on any day fate and benevolent biorhythms as much as skill will determine who emerges to win the first ever ATP tennis event in Vietnam.

From that standpoint, lean, rangy Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, seeded No. 3, displayed the most gravitas when he told the assembled press that he had only recently been to the U.S. Open and is hungry for the action in the Vietnam Open.

“This is a very good draw,” said Stepanek. “It is an exciting draw and I want to see how far I can go here,” he asserted.

Meanwhile, the hometown favourite Min Quan said he was “very happy” to be given the chance to gain experience. “This is a tournament with some of the top players in the world. I want to learn all I can,” enthused Quan.

Although Quan’s opponent, Phau, is ranked 107th in the ATP list while the Vietnamese lad occupies the nether regions of the rankings, the famed fervency for the indigenous sports hero among Vietnamese spectators can be counted on to bridge the chasm that separates them.

This alone is sufficient rationale for bringing an ATP event, with its high international media profile, to an economically vibrant nation. Quan has the parvenu’s ambition to make the big time and the Vietnam Open gifts him the chance.