All smiles: Ly Hoang Nam celebrates after beating Diego Pedraza of Columbia in the first round of the Abierto Juvenil Mexicano event in Mexico yesterday. — Photo thethaoso.vn

HA NOI (VNS) – Vietnamese teenager Ly Hoang Nam defeated Diego Pedraza of Columbia 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the Abierto Juvenil Mexicano tennis boys' singles event in Mexico early yesterday morning.

Nam, 15, became Viet Nam's youngest national champion when he triumphed at the finals event in October.

He will next play the winner of the match between Santiago Sierra of Mexico and Dennis Uspensky from the US.

The grade A event has lured many leading junior athletes including world No 7 Nikola Milojevic of Serbia and No 8 Frederico Ferreira Silva from Portugal.

There are also girls' singles and doubles and boys' doubles events.

The finals take place on December 29. — VNS