Saturday, 11 December 2010

Thailand do the double over Vietnam in singles


Thailand’s Benjamas Pongsatorn plays a shot against Mai Thanh Dong of Vietnam during their Super Singles match yesterday. Photo by: SRENG MENG SRUN

via CAAI

Friday, 10 December 2010 15:00 H S Manjunath

The two Super Singles matches carded yesterday in the Tep Khunnah Memorial tennis tournament turned into a regional clash between Thailand and Vietnam, with both Thai juniors riding home their superior court craft to register straight set victories at the National Training Centre.

Benjamas Pongsatorn is among the top 10 juniors in Thailand and on the way up in the region.

Having lost his first match in Group A to Cambodia’s No 1 Bun Kenny, the Thai youngster was anxious to do well against Vietnam’s Mai Thanh Dong. Getting into his stride quickly, Benjamas took absolute control to run out a 6-2, 6-0 winner.

Equally assailing was another Thai prospect, Timo Sivapruksa, who had the measure of Cambodian team member Orn Sambath in Group B on Wednesday. Vietnam’s Ton That Minh found it hard to cope with Sivapruksa’s agility and went down rather tamely 6-3, 6-1.

Meanwhile in the men’s singles competition yesterday, one of Phnom Penh’s most promising junior players Long Samneang scored a morale-boosting 6-2, 6-2 win over Martin Desuatels to grab a spot in semifinals. The youth of Long Samneang triumphed over Desuatels’ experience in what was an intriguing baseline duel.

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