Changes to Davis Cup side after bust-up
CAMBODIA’S tennis dynamic is set for a sh i f t towa rds building a strong second line follow ing a decision by nonplay ing captain Tep Rit hiv it a nd nat iona l head c oach Braen Aneiros that it was time for the younger generation to ta ke over the torch from seasoned campaigners like Bun Kenny, who has pivoted t he Kingdom’s Davis Cup efforts for t he past si x years.
Cambodia suffered their second rubberless defeat in the ongoing Asia/Oceania Group III series against a strong Vietnam line-up at the My Dinh Sports Complex Indoor Arena on Wednesday night.
Captain Rithivit left Kenny out of singles nominations after he had reportedly displayed an attitude that did not sit well with team management in his loss in a near three-hour battle with Malaysia’s Christian Didier Chin the previous night.
Having ta ken serious note of r ude remarks Kenny had made during a change-over, t he camp was clearly upset, and t he eventual loss of t hat ver y close encounter added to the sombre mood, leading the player who ha s played 27 matches for the countr y over t he last si x years to be sidelined against Vietnam.
In all, Vietnam took just under 100 minutes to wrap up the singles rubbers and then went on to claim the doubles for a 3-0 sweep. Cambodia’s Delton Sophana Kim was no match for Linh Giang Trinh, who lost just one game in a 6-0, 6-1 rout in 48 minutes.
I n ju s t a bout t he sa me length of time, Hoang Nam Ly d ismissed Long Sa mneang 6-1, 6-1.
Vietnam pair Pham Minh Tuan and Le Khanh Quoc got past Delton Kim and Phalkun Mam 6-1, 6-4.
“We will play again with Delton and Samneang again in Thursday night’s tie against Pacific Oceania. I think it is a good opportunity for them to get some tough matchplay and be ready for the crucial relegation playoff we have to fight on Saturday,” coach Aneiros told The Post.
“They are the ones to take the torch of this team after Kenny and Phalkun.
“More important than the result against Pacific Oceania today, I would like these players to play at a good level and improve from the previous matches,” the former Panamanian Davis Cupper added.
No matter what the outcome of the tie against Pacific Oceania was, Cambodia will have to fight a relegation playoff against a team from Group B yet to be identified.
Rithivit, reflecting on the issues relating to Kenny during that singles rubber against Malaysia on Tuesday, said that he was devastated when players put self interest before the federation and the team.
“Tennis Cambodia is much bigger than any one player,” Rithivit said, implying that discipline on and off the court was more important to him than reputation.