VIETNAM’s HUY BEATEN IN QUALIFYING BUT GLAD ALL THE SAME
Although Vietnam’s No. 2 player Ngo Quang Huy fell 4-6, 4-6 to Jaroslav Levinsky of the Czech Republic on the first day of the qualifying round for the USD$380,000 Vietnam Open ATP Tennis Tournament, the player was delighted with the chance to to gain traction from the experience towards regional excellence.
Huy, 21, will compete in a national tournament in Hanoi next month to obtain a much prized slot in the national team to the biennial Southeast Asia (SEA) Games, an event that features the best players in the region.
“It was tough playing my opponent but I felt I learned something that will be useful for me in next month’s competition in Hanoi,” he said.
Levinsky took 74 minutes to demolish Huy at the Phu Tho Indoor Stadium in Ho Chi Minh City but afterwards the budding Vietnamese was far from feeling dejected. “He is too strong a player but the experience I gained will be useful,” Huy remarked after the match.
The first-ever ATP tournament saw Vietnam obtain one wild card entry into the main draw for the tournament begnning on Monday (September 26) and four wild cards to the qualifying rounds today and tomorrow. Vietnam’s No. 1 Do Minh Quan is drawn to meet Bjorn Phau on Monday.
Huy is the best of the four Vietnamese who gained wild cards to the qualifying rounds. Naturally his defeat did not presage glad tidings for the local quartet.
However, he was philosophical in defeat. “Just the opportunity to play against strong players on the ATP circuit was valuable enough,” said Huy.
