A few good men: Picking and choosing needs a level head<\/p>\n
After losing its two previous Davis Cup encounters with
\nUzbekistan in 3-2 squeakers, Indonesia has a chance to change the
\nscoreline in Sunday's final singles matches. But with one name
\nnotably missing from Indonesia's lineup, former top 20 women's
\nsingles player Yayuk Basuki examines the tricky art of making the
\nright choices.<\/p>\n
Coming in to the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group 1 tie, I thought
\nwe had a good chance to make it third time lucky against
\nUzbekistan. We are playing at home, in the heat (very different
\nfrom a European winter) and we have hometown support.<\/p>\n
Uzbekistan also does not have the same players that it did in
\nJakarta in 2001 and in Tashkent two years later. There is no Oleg
\nOgadorov this time, and Vadim Kutsenko is only playing doubles.
\nIn their place, the Uzbeks are fielding two 19-year-old Cup
\nrookies.<\/p>\n
So I was disappointed when our team lineup was announced last
\nweek. Instead of Febi Widhiyanto, the powers that be decided that
\nSuwandi was a better pick.<\/p>\n
In my opinion, it was the wrong choice.<\/p>\n
Suwandi, who is a member of the tennis camp of Indonesian
\nTennis Association (PELTI) chief Martina Wijaya, is no longer a
\nfull time player.<\/p>\n
When he was 16 and making his Cup debut, he had it all, with a
\nflowing game and the ability to hit a backhand slice or topspin
\nat will.<\/p>\n
Today, at 29, he is no longer in top condition, has other
\ninterests and does not seem to have the necessary commitment to
\nthe game. Winning or losing seems all the same to him. He lost in
\nthe quarterfinals in the Cigna Open two weeks ago here to veteran
\nSulistyo Wibowo, who is now a coach.<\/p>\n
But Prima Simpatiaji is a good choice. Coming off his win in
\nthe Cigna, he is now following in on his big serve to put the
\nball away, instead of just waiting back on the baseline. I saw
\nhim play on Friday, and he was attacking at every opportunity.<\/p>\n
He's in good shape, he has matured and now has the experience
\nthat he lacked just a year ago. He is a dependable choice to win
\nboth his singles.<\/p>\n
Prima actually has more weapons than Febi, but the latter is
\ntougher. Prima could probably beat him, but Davis Cup is a whole
\ndifferent ball game from individual play, where the pressure of
\nplaying for your country can overwhelm \"softer\" players.<\/p>\n
For Davis Cup, you need someone who is really cool on the
\ncourt, who won't give up easy points in tight situations, and
\nthose are the qualities I like in Febi.<\/p>\n
In my understanding, Febi was left off the team because he
\nchose to play tournaments in Australia instead of training at
\nhome here. But he was back in Indonesia last week, and would have
\nbeen ready to play this week. And he was playing those
\ntournaments to get in top shape for Uzbekistan.<\/p>\n
It seems to me there were other things behind the decision.
\nFor one, Febi's coach, Deddy Prasetya, has had a few run-ins with
\nthe association.<\/p>\n
Second, Prima, who had been coached by Deddy for the past few
\nyears, suddenly decided to leave about three months ago, saying
\nhe wanted to go back to school.<\/p>\n
A week later, he was playing for Martina's camp. That kind of
\nparting of the ways is not good, especially when you are supposed
\nto be a professional athlete and in the small community that is
\nIndonesian tennis.<\/p>\n
Although I have always hated the politicking that goes on in
\ntennis, I have experienced it first hand. In 1997, PELTI decided
\nthat we would play our Fed Cup match against Italy on clay -- my
\nleast comfortable surface but the one the Italian women are
\nraised on. The Italian players could not believe their luck.<\/p>\n
The association had not consulted me, their top player. I
\nasked my husband, who was also my coach, to send a letter to the
\nInternational Tennis Federation to find out how much time was
\nrequired for a decision to be made on changing the surface.<\/p>\n
I was not telling them to change the venue, but PELTI chose to
\nsee it that way.<\/p>\n
I was banned from playing in the tie, and the Italians
\nmassacred us in Senayan.<\/p>\n
This Davis Cup team lineup has once again showed how decisions
\ncan be tarnished by personal, petty disputes and concerns.<\/p>\n
Who plays and who doesn't in something as important as a Davis
\nCup tie has to be made fairly and with a level head. Put aside
\nthe differences, the past problems and issues, and come together
\nin the goal of Indonesia winning.<\/p>\n
A team must be made up of the best players, regardless of whom
\nthey are affiliated with or whether they are one's personal
\nfavorite. A leader must be willing to listen to others outside
\nhis or her immediate circle, for members of the latter may have
\ntheir own agenda.<\/p>\n
I sincerely hope that my fears will be proved wrong on Sunday,
\nespecially with a 2-1 lead and Prima's skills. If not, Indonesia
\nwill have to eat humble pie once again due to partial decision-
\nmaking.<\/p>\n
Yayuk Basuki talked to The Jakarta Post's Bruce Emond.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/a-few-good-men-picking-and-choosing-needs-a-level-head-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }