Nguyen Van Phuong won his first round match at the ITF Copa Barranquilla Capital de Vida-Claro tennis tournament in Colombia on Tuesday morning. 

Nguyen Van Phuong advanced to the second round of the ITF Copa Barranquilla Capital de Vida-Claro in Colombia. — Photo VTF

The Vietnamese, who jumped to the No 176 spot in the world junior ranking, the highest in his career, on Monday struggled to beat Andres Martin of the United States 0-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 in the men’s singles category.

He will next play No 2 seed Mateus Alves from Brazil in the second round. Alves, who ranks No 72 in the world junior table, won 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 over American Adam Neff in another match.

Phương will also take part in the doubles event, pairing with American partner Alexander Kiefer. They will play Milledge Coussu of the United States and Jorge Andre Limon of Mexico in the first match. 

The tournament on clay will conclude on January 28. — VNS