The three-day Third National Junior Tennis Tournament takes centre stage on Friday at the National Training Center with a highly competitive field including previous-outing winner Sen Sophon from Kep lining up for the boys under-18 singles honours.

The upper crust of the country’s junior talent will be in action, including the two leading players on the female side, Hour Sreypov and Ho Sreynoch.

The centrepiece of the competition will be the boys U18, where the presence of Junior Davis Cup players Tep Timothy, Khleang Punlok and Chheang Vannasith adds depth to a field likely to be dominated by Kep poster boy Sophon and the fast emerging Long Sarinreach, who has made tremendous strides in the past few months.

Sophon and Sarinreach are set to renew their fierce rivalry as seen in their three-set battle for the title in the second edition earlier this year.

Of added interest is the participation in the U12 and U14 categories of girls from the Happy Chandara school for disadvantaged girls just outside Phnom Penh, who were introduced to the game last year.

The tournament is being sponsored by Hagar Restaurant and Catering, who like in previous editions will provide the players with meals at the competition.

Meanwhile, four national junior players, Ho Sreynoch, Khleang Punlok, Sen Sophon and Leng Sarinreach, will attend a 12-day ITF-ATF U16 Development Training Camp in Bangkok to be held under the auspices of the Lawn Tennis Association of Thailand after the Juniors. The players will be assisted by travelling coach Laura Pola.