Angie bounches back but Indonesia loses in Fed Cup playoffs<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Angelique 'Angie' Widjaja recovered from a dismal opening day on
\nSaturday to make short work of Anca Barna, but her convincing 6-
\n3, 6-1 win on Sunday failed to lift Indonesia over Germany in
\ntheir Federation Cup play-off.<\/p>\n
Indonesia fell short of reaching the World Group, losing 3-2
\nin the two-day competition at the Senayan tennis stadium.<\/p>\n
Trailing the visiting team by two matches after the opening
\nmatches on Saturday, Angie gave the home side hope of a
\nturnaround after her dispatch of Barna in the first of the two
\nreverse singles matches on Sunday.<\/p>\n
While Barna admitted to being physically drained after her
\ntiring three set win of Wynne Prakusya on the opening day, Angie
\nsaid she had overcome her jitters.<\/p>\n
"I just relaxed, not like the day before when I was too tense.
\nI guess I recovered and played my best," Angie said.<\/p>\n
However, it proved a short-lived jubilation for the home side
\nas Wynne crashed to a 4-6, 6-2, 3-6 defeat to Barbara Rittner to
\ngive the Germans an insurmountable 3-1 lead.<\/p>\n
Wynne's loss left the team wringing their hands over what
\ncould have been given that Rittner was troubled by her nagging
\nfoot injuries.<\/p>\n
"I must admit I'm disappointed by the results, particularly
\nbecause Wynne had a chance of winning her match to level the
\nscore," non-playing captain Suzanna Anggarkusuma told a media
\nconference.<\/p>\n
"It seems that Wynne was just too nervous. I was a player
\nmyself so I can feel what Wynne endured in the progress of the
\nmatch.<\/p>\n
"With such a daunting task and when we see a seemingly
\nimminent chance for a crucial win, it hurts when it turns out we
\nwere too overwhelmed by the ambition and the win slips out of our
\ngrasp," she said.<\/p>\n
The German team looked relieved at the win, which means it
\nstays in the World Group for next year's competition while
\nIndonesia is put back where it started in the regional
\ncompetition to have any chance at a possible shot at the
\nplayoffs.<\/p>\n
"It was a tense and close game against Indonesia out there.
\nBut at the end of the day we are happy that we staye in the World
\nGroup," team captain Klaus Eberhard said.<\/p>\n
On the hot sun-baked court at midday, Rittner had to battle
\nher nagging injuries against Wynne in the match, during which she
\nprotested several dubious line calls and at one point had a terse
\nchat with the umpire which ended with her banging her racket on
\nthe umpire's chair.<\/p>\n
"It was a tiring match, a real see-saw battle. In the second
\nset, I had problems with my injuries. They were old injuries
\ncoming back again. In the third set, I tried to be aggressive
\nlike I was in the first set," said Rittner.<\/p>\n
Angie and Wynne played out the string by beating Vanessa Hanke
\nand Angelika Roesch 6-2, 6-2 in the doubles later in the day.<\/p>",
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