Cambodia’s Davis Cup pivot Bun Kenny stormed into the semi-finals of the first leg of the 2014 BMW Malaysian National Circuit tennis tournament in Kuala Lumpur yesterday after scoring an emphatic 7-6, 6-3 win over Indonesia’s Indra Wijaya.

The 22-year-old Cambodian right-hander, who is preparing to lead the country’s ensuing Group III Asia Oceania Davis Cup challenge in April, was a bit uptight in the early exchanges of the first set but gradually found form and played an exquisite

tie-breaker to gain the upper hand over the Indonesian.

Growing more confident as the game progressed, Kenny opened his shoulders out and created a tempo that was too hot for Indra Wijaya to handle in the second set.

Kenny will take on Joshua Liu of Singapore in today’s semi-finals.

“I was a bit edgy at the start since I hadn’t played competitive tennis since Phnom Penh Futures in early December, but once I started getting the timing on my shots right I was feeling a lot better,” Kenny told the Post after his victory. “I feel good about my game and fitness. I am hopeful of making it to the final.”

Tennis Federation of Cambodia Secretary General Tep Rithivit welcomed the “very good news” yesterday.

“It is a positive sign that Kenny is beginning to do well on the circuit. He has been training hard and if he can produce results like this our Davis Cup campaign will be well served,” he said. The TFC is soon be renamed as Tennis Cambodia.

Kenny had a relatively easy time in the first round dealing with local players. He demolished Muhammad Nazif Aimaan 6-0, 6-1 in the first round and then disposed off Mohd Faiz Din and Sheikh Ameer Abdullah in the next two rounds by the same scoreline. Carrying this nice touch to the pre-quarter-finals, Kenny was all over Singapore’s Joshua Jordan 6-2, 6-3.

Vittels pours in support for tennis

Meanwhile, Vittel, the French mineral water brand that has been around for almost 100 years, has stepped in as an official partner of the Cambodian national team and its players in tournament competition abroad except the SEA Games and the Davis Cup.Bun Kenny’s present Malaysian trip has been fully sponsored by Vittel.

“We are proud to be associated with the Cambodian national team,” said Claire Caseris, head of marketing at Celliers D’Asie, the importers of Vittel to Cambodia.