HCM City's Tran Thi Tam Hao booked the first ticket to the semi-final round of the Viet Nam Masters women's singles category at the HCM City's Phu Tho Tennis Club.

Hao worked hard to beat teammate Huynh Phi Khanh in the first set, after winning the tiebreaker 7-3. She then went down in the second set, which saw Khanh come back strongly with her powerful forehand, losing 2-6. In the third set, Hao gave Khanh no opportunity to resist her attacks, winning three break points before winning the set 6-1.

In the semi-final, Hao will play Nguyen Ai Ngoc Van, who lost 1-6, 0-6 to Huynh Phuong Dai Trang yesterday in an all-HCM City match.

The other match will be between Khanh and Trang, seen as a repetition of the national championships' final in October.

In men's tennis, teenager Nguyen Hoang Thien of HCM City defeated No 1 seeded Pham Minh Tuan of Da Nang 6-2, 6-0 in the second group round match. He will next play Tran Hoang Anh Khoa of Military.

Khoa yesterday lost 1-6, 3-6 to former national winner Do Minh Quan.

In other matches, Hanoian Trinh Linh Giang overcame senior Tran Thanh Hoang of Military 6-2, 7-5; Le Quoc Khanh of the host beat Ho Huynh Dan Mach, another Military player, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. — VNS