Cambodia’s No 1 tennis player Bun Kenny made it to the second round of the ITF Laos Futures in Vientiane to ensure he kept all four of his ATP points for the year.

Fifth seeded Rohan Gajjar of India knocked out Cambodia’s Bun Kenny 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the US$10,000 ITF Laos Futures at the National Tennis Centre in Vientiane yesterday.

The 27-year-old right hander, ranked 609th in the world, used his speed and reach to good advantage in a near two-hour contest during which Bun Kenny was made to pay for his numerous unforced errors. The Cambodian No 1 had his share of brighter moments though, especially, in the second set, but the vastly experienced Indian came up with some exquisite touch on big points.

On the way to this last 16 clash, 1,202nd ranked Bun Kenny played flawless tennis to oust India’s Abhijit Tiwari 6-1, 6-2 in under an hour on Tuesday.

Under normal circumstances, a first round win would have earned Kenny a valuable ATP point but the scenario this time was slightly different. It was at the same venue last year that Kenny picked up his first ATP point and bagged three more in the ensuing months. However, the rankings are calculated on a calendar year basis and at the start of the 53rd week for Kenny, he had to defend his point. If he had lost in the first round, he would have dropped a point, but having got through the first hurdle he retains his points stock of four throughout the year.

“We are relieved that he defended his point in Laos. It was very crucial from our perspective that he didn’t drop a point at this stage when he is eagerly looking for a seeding in the SEA Games men’s singles [competition],” national team coach Braen Aneiros told the Post yesterday.

The trip to Laos was not so profitable for Kenny’s team-mate and SEA Games doubles partner Orn Sambath. Forced to play the Futures qualifiers last weekend, Orn Sambath was listless in a 6-2, 6-0 drubbing by Brunei’s Mohammed Aiman Abdullah.