There was an explosion of joy among the Cambodian players and officials after several days of fierce competition. It's official: Cambodia has left Group IV of the Davis Cup and moved up to the next level. We'll be coming back to this performance in more detail, but in the meantime: the atmosphere and the hopes of the teams on the first day of this prestigious competition.
The competition kicked off with a speech by His Excellency Hun Many, Minister for the Civil Service, who expressed his "deep pride in hosting the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania".
Asia/Oceania Davis Cup 2024, Cambodian players determined to advance to Group III
All keen to represent the Kingdom, the players in the national team - Ponlok Khleang, Mathew Krusling, Kenny Bun, Timothy Tep and Sarinreach Leng - aspire to demonstrate their abilities in the best possible way, particularly on their homeland.
And on their first day of competition, they all made their countries proud, starting with the impressive Kenny Bun, who beat Iraq's Adel Saidi 6/1, 6/0. The result once again demonstrated his constant hard work and solid experience of the competition.
The court then gave way to the young Mattew Krusling. The 19-year-old Khmer-American beat his opponent, Abdullah Ali Hatem Ghrairi, 7/6, 6/3 with great determination.
Indeed, after his first SEA Games with the Cambodian team at the age of 17, he is continuing his sporting career by representing the Kingdom, "a real blessing", he says.
Finally, at the end of the first day, the duo of Timothy Tep and Sarinreach Leng took on the Iraqis, Mohammed Abuzed Saber and Amin Al-Ubaidy, for a doubles match won by our two Cambodians, 6/4 and 6/3.
Their experience of playing doubles together, particularly as juniors during the 2016-2017 season, shows that the two players have a real bond, which led to a solid match.
Players who have been immersed in tennis from an early age. Sarinreach Leng remembers his first tennis lesson as if it were yesterday, on 28 August 2009, when he was just 6 years old. Today, at the age of 21, the Cambodian confides: "It's an honour to represent our country at the highest level. It's clearly something special and meaningful".
For Timothy Tep, it was by following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father from an early age that this discipline took on a more professional meaning. After completing his schooling at the Lycée Français Descartes, he moved to the United States as part of a four-year sports studies programme to continue developing his game while studying history at university.
Now back in his homeland for a year and a half, the 24-year-old Franco-Khmer is pursuing his sporting career with determination, ambition and a deep sense of gratitude.
"I'm here to represent my country and to be available for these special events. Sometimes we don't realise how lucky we are to have this opportunity”.
"I'm grateful for my family's history and for playing alongside my father, who is my captain and who got me into tennis... Not forgetting my family who watch live streaming and my close friends who are present at competitions, these are very meaningful moments," says Timothy.
Rithivit Tep, a man devoted to promoting Khmer talent
Rithivit Tep and his staff lead the federation with a master's hand. As Secretary General of the Cambodian Tennis Federation and Captain of the Cambodian national team, Mr Tep has been passionately committed to ensuring that Cambodia is recognised in the world of tennis for many years now.
Rithivit has also been a member of the Board of Directors of the Asian Tennis Federation for eight years now, and has held the position of Vice-Chairman since last year. A great distinction for this man who is making history by being the first Cambodian to receive this title.
He believes that, far from being an individualist, every achievement in tennis is a collective one. Involved in the sport since 1994, humble and grateful, tennis is part of a family history for Rithivit Tep, particularly with his father, who was Cambodia's No. 1 player in the 50s and 60s, but also with his three sons who are highly committed to the sport.
These include Timothy, a player in the Cambodian national tennis team, and his two other sons, who help with the logistics, such as Jonathan Tep, who served as Executive Director for a year and a half four years ago and is responsible for all the logistics of the Davis Cup 2024 (welcoming countries, VIPs, ATF, etc.).
Jonathan Tep talks about the uniqueness of this competition with the Kingdom as host country:
"It's a great honour to be hosting this event in Cambodia. We could never have imagined this 12 years ago, in 2012. So we are very proud to welcome all these countries and our work with the teams for the spectators, but also for the countries we are hosting."
Rithivit Tep continued: "Tennis is not necessarily about winning. Before that, you have to build a base by giving opportunities to young people, particularly between the ages of 8 and 14, and it's in this age group that we focus a lot of our attention."
"It doesn't matter whether we win or lose, the junior programme must continue across the country. Before the COVID-19, we used to go into schools to give what we call 'mini tennis' to 15,000 children twice a week. The 'mini tennis' enables us to detect certain talents so that they can play more regularly with a view to making tennis a professional sport”.
Much more than just a competition, the Davis Cup is an event that helps to pass on the values of respect and sharing to younger generations, while honouring one's country and never forgetting where one comes from.
"Saturday is the most important day. I have done everything I can to bring the Davis Cup to Cambodia, in honour of my country and my tennis family," concludes Rithivit Tep.
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