Second-seeded Thun Tola blasted his way to the men’s singles title in the inaugural Kep Open tennis tournament yesterday evening with a resounding 6-0, 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded Long Chumneth at the Villa Romonea court.

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It took the stocky left-hander a little over 40 minutes to make short work of Schools Project coach Long Chumneth, who struggled for the best part of the contest to find his range and rhythm.

The victory should serve Tola’s express purpose of cushioning his chances for a national call-up to the Doha Davis Cup campaign next month.

“I’m very happy I won this event. It turned out to be a lot easier than I had expected,” he told the Post after the match.

The signs were ominous for Chumneth quite early in the first set. Tola held on to his service games with consummate ease but Chumneth was struggling with his own serves, which invariably came under a hammer.

Tola’s better court sense and shrewd choices on shot-making ensured he stayed ahead of the rallies.

The first set was a romp.

It was only in the first game of the second set that Tola lapsed into uncharacteristic double faults to drop his serve for the first time.

Chumneth managed to eke out another game before Tola polished the tie off.

It was a disappointing day for the event’s top seed, Orn Sambath. In the first semifinal, Long Chumneth knocked out Sambath 4-2, 4-1, as Tola got past Long Samnang  4-2, 4-0.

In the playoff for third place, Sambath was again at the receiving end, beaten via a super tie break 4-2, 2-4, 11-8 by Long Samnang.