VietNamNet Bridge – Having just got a promotion, Vietnamese tennis players immediately prepare for the 2014 Davis Cup in order to avoid relegation.

On September 15, Vietnam beat Hong Kong at the Davis Cup‘s BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Zone Group III, qualifying for Group II of next year’s event.

This was the first time in history Vietnam has qualified for Davis Cup‘s BNP Paribas Asia/Oceania Zone Group II, meaning it will face strong competition from Thailand, Sri Lanka, Kuwait and Syria.

According to plan, the first matches in Asia/Oceania Zone Group II will begin after the Australian Open, or late January 2014.

The thing that makes the Vietnam Tennis Federation worried most is the matches of Group II will have five sets so players must have good physical strength. In the recent games in Group III, Vietnamese players lost in many games owning to poor physical strength although these matches were in the form of three sets.

To prepare for this tournament, the Vietnam Tennis Federation is considering changing the playing form of the national championship and the best players’ tournament from three to five sets, so Vietnam’s top players will have the opportunity to practice ahead of Davis Cup 2014.

In addition, after the National Championships in October, the Davis Cup team will be convened immediately to train.

In addition to the five current players - Minh Quan, Quoc Khanh, Hoang Thien, Minh Tuan and Anh Khoa, the Davis Cup team of Vietnam will have two new faces - Hoang Nam and Dan Mach.

The team returned to Vietnam on September 17 and was awarded $10,000 by the Vietnam Tennis Federation for their achievement at the Davis Cup.

Nam Nguyen