Kaitlyn Christian and Zoey Wang competing at the MB Vietnam Cup.
Kaitlyn Christian and Zoey Wang competing at the MB Vietnam Cup. PPA Tour Asia

Vietnam Day 2 Recap: Christian, Wang win three-game thriller in women’s doubles, Vietnamese players shine in men’s singles

PPA Tour Asia ‘s MB Vietnam Cup continued Wednesday evening with quarterfinal action in all five pro events.

One of the best matches of the day was the women’s doubles quarterfinal bout between top seeds Kaitlyn Christian/Chao Yi “Zoey” Wang and Roos van Reek/Andie Dikosavljevic.

After being dominated in the first game, Christian/Wang pulled off an impressive comeback to come away with a 1-11, 11-3, 11-9 victory to keep their bid for a second consecutive title together alive.

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“We knew they were going to be a tough team, and I think after the first game we made some slight adjustments,” Christian said of the performance. “The game styles are very different here, and we’re generally not accustomed to that, so just making mid-match tweaks is very important for us.”

Wang appeared to injure her ankle at 10-9 in the third game, but she was still able to compete in mixed doubles later in the day alongside Tyson McGuffin.

Her status will be worth monitoring ahead of the impending matchup against Australia’s Nicola Schoeman/Danni-Elle Townsend in what will be a rematch of last week’s final in Malaysia, which Christian/Wang won in two games.

In men’s singles, three Vietnamese players advanced to the semifinals with victories on Wednesday: Phuc Huynh, Hoang Nam Ly, and Hien Truong.

Truong’s 11-4, 11-3 quarterfinal win over Hong kit “Jack” Wong was especially noteworthy, since Wong had defeated him in the semifinals just last week in Malaysia.

 

Now having avenged that loss, Truong has another shot to make a final in a wide-open men’s singles draw that has seen the top three seeds fall.

Live semifinal coverage from Da Nang will be available starting at 9pm ET Thursday evening on Pickleballtv.