Local tennis star Bun Kenny met with mixed fortunes when he made his international debut in the qualifying rounds of the Malaysian leg of the Men’s Circuit Futures tournament at the weekend. The Cambodian No 2 had turned in a gutsy performance to topple Michael Leong of the Solomon Islands 6-3, 6-2 Sunday in the second round, after breezing through Saturday’s first round against local lad Than Khaihong without dropping a game.

However, in his third round tie Monday against India’s Vinayak Sharma, Bun Kenny was blown away by the player ranked 1,412 in the world, losing 6-0, 6-2.

“The scoreline does not accurately reflect Kenny’s very good performance in the third round,” expressed Cambodian national team coach Braen Aneiros, who accompanied Bun Kenny in Kuala Lumpur. “A win here would have given him a place in the main draw.

“He had many game or break points during the match, stayed in the rallies quite well and forced the Indian, who was getting visibly tired towards the end of the match, to earn his points,” asserted the coach. “Overall it was a creditable performance by Kenny considering the fact that this was his first international tournament.”

Aneiros said Bun Kenny’s lack of experience showed on several big points. “Now he knows what the pressure points are, and I hope he will be seen in a different light next week when he gets into another Futures qualifiers.”

A win in the first round of a main draw gives unranked players a chance to get into the ATP ranking list, a target the Cambodian has set his sights firmly on this year.