VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam’s best hope to take the International Tennis Federation’s Under-18 tournament - the Becamex Binh Duong Cup - Nguyen Hoang Thien, qualified for the quarter-finals after a 6-4, 7-6 win over South Korea’s Lee Tae-woo on Wednesday.

Huynh Phuong Dai Trang. (Photo: www.thethaohcm.com.vn)

HCM City-based Thien won 6-4 in the first set, but sweated it out it the second set after a tense tie-breaker.

Vietnamese Ngoc Vinh, who joined Japan’s Nagasaki in men’s doubles, was defeated by Thai duo Khandarnpinitvon and Buraphatittha in two straight sets 2-6, 0-6.

On the women’s court, the tournament’s 2nd seed, Huynh Phuong Dai Trang, struggled to beat Jitsupang Samrej of Thailand 7-5, 6-3, to move into the quarter-finals.

Trang will meet Khwanthiti Banthao of Thailand to try for a semi-final berth in women’s singles.

Rising star Tran Thi Lam Anh edged past Thailand’s Tiraganok 7-6, 6-2 on Wednesday, into the semi-finals, where she will challenge top seed Thongsing of Thailand.

The HCM City-born player and her Thai partner Upapong also sailed through the women’s doubles semi-finals after crushing Thanh Binh and Dan Thi 6-0, 6-1 in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Lam Anh and Ngoc Van impressed Vietnamese fans by stunning 4th seed Siriporn Phakamad of Thailand and Australian Maltida Hurst in the quarter-finals to meet Malaysia’s Neesha and Thailand’s Benvadee in the semi-finals.

Viet Nam had eight players competing against powerful opponents in the main draw.

(Source: Viet Nam News)