Futures tennis

Cambodia’s Davis Cup pivot Bun Kenny won two qualifying matches back-to-back over Thai rivals to secure a place in the main draw of the ITF Thailand Men’s Futures tennis tournament at Bangkok’s Rama Garden Sports Complex yesterday.

The 22-year-old right hander, who is currently ranked 1,270th in the world, will face in the first round tomorrow India’s 25-year-old Saketh Myneni, who is seeded third.

In the men’s doubles first round today, Kenny and his Thai partner Perakiat Sirilu-ethaiwattania will square up against the second-seeded Japanese pair of Takuto Niki and Arata Onozawa.

In the crucial second round of the qualifiers, Kenny ran into stiff resistance from 19-year-old Punn Bodhidatta before wearing down the local hopeful 7-5, 5-7, 6-2.

After wrapping up a tight first set, Kenny was well poised for a straight sets win but the Thai teenager had other ideas. Taking advantage of Kenny’s wavering concentration, Bodhidatta stormed back into the contest by levelling the set scores. But the decider saw Kenny adopt a more aggressive approach which eventually paid handsome dividends.

“After winning the first set, I thought I could quickly seal the match. But a few vital points went the other way. But I was determined to change my tactics in the third. I am happy it worked,” Kenny told the Post after his victory.

“I hope to do well against Saketh Myneni, who is ranked 341.”

In the first round of the qualifiers on Saturday, Kenny had an easy time against another Thai player, Kritten Koyakul, winning 6-3, 6-0 in under an hour.