A Humbling Experience

If I had to choose one word to describe the way we've been treated and the way both Pun and I feel from the hospitality and kindness everyone has shown us, it's CELEBRITY! This is not to say all the attention is deserved, especially on my part, but I think I can appreciate it all even more that way. The support we are given here by the federation and the local tennis community is only trumped by our closest family and friends; I took all the support I could carry with me into Mondays match!

Sadly for me it wasn't a storybook ending in my first attempt at getting an ATP point. On Monday I walked onto the court with all the confidence in the world! I felt like I could beat Roger Federer without taking both of his legs out (I know what some of you are thinking, and the answer is yes, Roger can beat you with one leg :) I had trained hard all week, ate healthy, was over-hydrated if that's possible, and yet I went down in flames to Do Minh Quan of Vietnam 6-2 6-0. The humidity here is quite difficult to get use to, but it's slowly getting better for me and hopefully soon enough I'll be able to hang with these fuzz ballers a little longer!

Having not played a competitive tournament since Vetu's and his Davis Cup debut definitely showed in Chub's first match on Tuesday morning. Up against the 6 seed in Maximilian Neuchrist, Chub was able to keep the first set close, losing only 6-4 in what was a battle of a set. Clearly spent after the first set and continuing to struggle with the heat and humidity, Chub quickly went up 5-2 in the second set over Neuchrist of Austria. Neuchrist dug deep and found a second wind unfortunately that carried him to a straight set victory, 6-4 7-5. Chub's lack of competitive match experience let him down on the big points, where Neuchrist seemed to shine. Still a little rusty in his first match I am excited to see how he does in the 2nd futures!

Today, the 23rd here in Phnom Penh, was collection day for the successful Cambodian Davis Cup Team. Earlier this year in April, both of my younger brothers represented Cambodia in the prestigious Davis Cup, an annual international tennis competition where players duke it out for their countries. As their Davis Cup captain told me, that whole week was a dream, everything fell into place so perfect that before they knew it they had won Asia/Oceania Group IV! The purpose of today's ceremony was to officially recognize their amazing feat and to congratulate the team members...financially :).

I've only had chances to see the city in small doses, and mostly in passing. There are so many small cultural differences I've noticed, none of which I would label good or bad, just different. The people here are definitely not too shy to stare at you; and how do I know this? They do it for a very long time! I've found that answering with a smile usually diffuses the the awkward situation for me. Sanitation in general is not so important here either. There are large garbage bins on the side of big streets that are full to the brim and surrounded by small garbage bags. When you pass them it gets quite smelly; and although hard to believe after passing it a few times a day you just get used to the smell. I don't think there is a proper sewage system here, so during tropical season (now) when it comes down on you like a monsoon the streets become flooded in some places from a couple hours of rain. I think I mentioned traffic and the rules of the road, of which there are none, haha.

Pun and I have to get some sleep because I play tomorrow morning and Chub plays either on Monday or Tuesday in the main draw, wish us luck.

Pictured Below:
1. Fukuda-San, our new friend.
2. Barracuda Dinner, yummy.
3. National team and Braen Aneiros.
4. Kenny and Demon dressed for the Davis Cup Ceremony.