Late Sunday night we arrived in Dubai. Knowing what was best for us, we made it to bed as early as possible to be ready for the next day and upcoming week. It was not going to be an easy one.
Monday and Tuesday were our final days to practice before matches began on Wednesday for Group III. Monday morning the team drilled and played out some doubles points, followed by singles practice sets in the afternoon. Group IV was actually held at the same venue as us, the Aviation Tennis Club, and had already started play, so we were able to watch some matches after our afternoon practice on Monday. With 18 countries on site it was a bonus to catch up with other players we knew going into the tournament. On Tuesday the team played a practice set of doubles and awaited the pools to be drawn. Cambodia fell in Pool B, alongside Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, and Pacific Oceania. Vietnam would be our very first match.
With Pannhara still acclimating to the humidity in Dubai, the coach and captain chose to play his older brother Phalkun first at 2 singles. Confidence did not turn out to be enough for the first time Davis Cupper as he went down to a young and fitter Thien Nguyen. Hope was not lost since we had yet to start the #1 singles where Kenny Bun would anchor the singles. In a match that was well fought by Kenny, it just wasn't quite good enough to overcome Do Minh Quan who edged out Kenny 7-5 in the 2nd. After a change of court, Vietnam made quick work of the Mam brothers, targeting Phalkun who looked to be dealing with nerves in his first Davis Cup appearance. Dealing with an opponent of a different nature, Samneang Long was sidelined for the entirety of the tournament, coming down with chicken pox.
Following Cambodia's 3-0 loss to Vietnam was their match against the host team, UAE. As the host team it was only given that it would not just be a battle against our opponents, but their diehard supporters as well. Pannhara played the first singles match at #2 and made a very valiant effort. In the 3rd set after having been laid low twice on the court due to cramps he retired and left the court slowly but with head held high. Down 0-1, it would be Kenny's turn to take the court. Down a set and 4-2, things did not look good, but Kenny kept fighting all the same and would turn the match around for a comeback victory! With a fired up Kenny, playing alongside Phalkun who appeared to be a lot more relaxed, they got the doubles point and clinched the first win for the country.
On Friday, the team faced Pacific Oceania. Testing Pannhara at 2 singles turned out to be a good decision, with him taking the match 2 and 2 in no time. Kenny was up next against a 42yr old opponent. Age was nonexistent in the beginning of the match which was heading in favor of Pacific Oceania, but for the 2nd day in a row Kenny was able to produce his best tennis when needed, closing out the final set 6-0 and clinching the win, the 2nd win for the country and a win that would ensure our spot in Group III for 2014.
Play was not yet over. Finishing 2nd in our pool allowed us to move on to the playoff pool where we would play against the top 2 finishers in Pool A, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Against Hong Kong Pannhara would lose a close 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 match in the 2 singles spot. Against Philip King, brother of Vania King, Kenny went down in straights, valiantly fighting to stay alive in the 2nd. Resting their top players, Kenny and Phalkun faced a pair of youngsters and were able to capitalize on their inexperience in a 3 set win. Malaysia would be our next and final opponent of the tournament, with the match deciding who would finish 3rd and 4th. All 3 matches were 3 setters, unfortunately none of which went our way. The team finished at 1 in the morning, the very last match to wrap up the tournament.
The depth of Group III turned out to be a lot deeper than expected. We all felt like we could have finished 1st or last, but in actuality the team finished 4th out of 8 teams, a finish that allowed us to hold our heads high not because of what place we ended up, but because of how we fought to make it happen.
None of this would have been possible without the help of our captain, who was with us on court to the very end. Coach Braen Aneiros was in the stands making sure we utilised the many things we worked on in practice the many weeks leading up to the tournament.
Also, a very big thanks to Sandrine Bury and her mother, our Goodwill Ambassador and her sister Kiko, Christina Ingmire, formerly with the TFC and still so in our hearts, Chea Pov, one of the national coaches, and Lavie Sak, dedicated supporter of all things TFC and mini tennis master.
The Team
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