HA NOI (VNS) — Ly Hoang Nam was ousted from the Australian Open after his loss in the boys' singles second-round match yesterday at the Melbourne Park.

The Vietnamese player was defeated 6-4, 6-7 (3), 4-6 by No 16 seed Arika Santillan of the hosts.

According to coach Tran Duc Quynh, Nam started the match very well, winning a break point in the first game, and maintained his lead till the end of the first set.

Unseeded Nam continued to play well, though Santillan received strong home crowd support in Court 7, and pocketed the second break point in the seventh game of the second set before he made it 5-3.

However, Santillan won three games in a row in the second set and levelled it 6-6. The 1.78m-tall player grabbed the set with a 7-3 win in the tie break.

In the third set, Nam was not able to stop Japan-born Santillan from winning the match.

Nam is the first Vietnamese player to reach the second round of the Australian Open's junior draw. — VNS