Phau, ranked 107th in the ATP rankings, took just under an hour to squelch any hope that local favourite Ming Quan nurtured of gaining traction in the first ever ATP event to be held on Vietnamese soil.

A flurry of resistance midway through the first set from Minh Quan did offer a morsel of hope but the more seasoned Phau, of missed Indonesian and German parentage, served more forcefully and returned more accurately to subdue his inexperienced opponent.

In the second set, Minh Quan early resisted the German’s progress by sharing the first four games at 2-2 but again it was his lack of sustaining power that saw him collapse to a bigger margin of defeat at 2-6.

Afterwards, Minh Quan said he learned he had to be quicker to grasp the rhythm of the match in order not to be overwhelmed.

“I have learned to be more careful with my preparations which is what I would want to do for the Southeast Asian Games later this year,” said Minh Quan.

The SEA Games is a sporting summit of sorts for the Southeast Asian player of any of the multiple disciplines that feature in the biennial festival for athletes from the 10 countries of the region.

Phau offered Minh Quan some advice after the match. “He’s got potential but he has to work harder at his game,” said the German.

He added: “It always hard to play the local favourite before his home crowd but after I won the first four games, I felt confident that I would be able to win and get off to a good start in this tournament.”