Vietnam’s best young tennis player Nguyen Hoang Thien Wednesday left Australia to compete at the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Under-18 Grade 3 competition in New Zealand.

The 16-year-old Thien, ranked 71st in the ITF juniors rankings, was the second seed in the qualifying round for the Australian Open. He got a bye to the second round where he beat the host's Rhys Michael Johnson (ranked 675th in the juniors rankings) 6-3, 7-5.

After winning the first set 7-5 in his next match against Japanese rival Onishi Ken, ranked 97th in the juniors rankings, Thien wilted in the heat and lost the next two sets 1-6, 6-3. The loss meant he failed to qualify for the Australia Open juniors 2012.

Thien said, “I’m not pleased with my achievements at the Australian Open, but the lesson I learned at the tournament will help me get better results at coming contests.”

Thien is top seed at the ITF U-18 Grade 3 contest that will be played in Auckland from January 30 till February 4.