Belgium plumps for Appelmans and van Roost<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The Belgium Fed Cup team, in a surprise move
\nyesterday, picked Dominique van Roost as the second singles
\ninstead of Laurence Courtois in its match against host Indonesia
\non Saturday.<\/p>\n
Van Roost will also team up with Sabine Appelmans, who was
\ndrawn to play as the first singles, instead of regular pairing of
\nCourtois and Nancy Feber.<\/p>\n
\"Dominique is an exceptional player on hard court. I'm sorry,
\nbut that's all I can say on why I picked her,\" said the Belgium
\nnon-playing captain Steven Martens.<\/p>\n
Speaking about his doubles team, Martens said that his
\ndecision was taken in accordance with the condition of his
\nplayers.<\/p>\n
\"I think the other pair (Courtois and Feber) are not 100
\npercent fit for the match,\" Martens said.<\/p>\n
Host Indonesia, on the other hand, did not pull any surprises
\nwhen it announced that the country's tennis queen, Yayuk Basuki,
\ntogether with Romana Tedjakusuma, will be the heroines to defend
\nthe country in the match.<\/p>\n
Indonesian non-playing captain Suharyadi said that the Belgium
\ndecision had been anticipated, and that there will be no problem
\nin determining who will be Romana's opponent in the second
\nsingles.<\/p>\n
The draw, which was witnessed by chairman of the Indonesia
\nTennis Association Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Belgian Ambassador
\nMarc van Rysselderghe, placed Yayuk to oppose van Roost in the
\nfirst singles match, and Appelmans to play Romana in the second
\nsingles.<\/p>\n
\"The chances for winning are 75-25 for Yayuk, and 60-40 for
\nAppelmans,\" Martens said.<\/p>\n
\"Dominique will be a big star if she can upset Yayuk, then
\nAppelmans can play more relaxed,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Both teams hope to steal points from one another. Indonesia
\nwill rely on Yayuk, while Belgium expects Appelmans to beat
\nRomana.<\/p>\n
Yayuk said that being the first single did not create any
\nburdens for her.<\/p>\n
\"We are representing Indonesia, and this is the best team we
\nhave now,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Yayuk, who has never met van Roost before, said that she is a
\ntotal baseliner.<\/p>\n
\"Her strokes are very accurate. She's more offensive than
\nCourtois and she tends to get in as many winning points as she
\ncan,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Van Roost declined to comment on her chances against Yayuk,
\nbecause she has \"never played against her before\".<\/p>\n
Suharyadi, Yayuk's coach and husband, said that placing Romana
\nin the second singles is the best decision he could have made.<\/p>\n
\"Romana is rapidly improving in terms of her physical
\ncondition. She'll be able to deal with mental pressure better
\nthan the two juniors,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Juniors Liza Andriyani and Wynne Prakusya have been prepared
\nfor the big match. It seemed that Suharyadi did not want to take
\na risk by placing one of them as the second singles.<\/p>\n
Romana, who never played either Appelmans or van Roost, said
\nthat she felt better compared to her first day here.<\/p>\n
\"I just hope that on Saturday and Sunday, I can play my best,\"
\nsaid Romana, who has previously joined the country's Fed Cup team
\nfour times.<\/p>\n
\"I think Sabine is a very good player. Her groundstrokes are
\nvery consistent. I'll try my best to upset her,\" she commented on
\nher opponent.<\/p>\n
Both teams seemed to rely on whether or not they were
\nvictorious in singles before deciding on the doubles match. The
\ndecision of the doubles is not yet fixed 100 percent.<\/p>\n
\"I'll see the results of the singles matches first,\" Martens
\nsaid, \"If Sabine plays well, she can play in doubles.\"<\/p>\n
\"Our doubles can still be changed,\" Suharyadi said.<\/p>\n
Romana, who just arrived here early this weekend from her
\ncollege in Louisiana, said that she would not have any problems
\nin the second day when she would be playing singles and doubles.<\/p>\n
\"I think I'm accustomed to it. I did exactly the same thing
\nlast year,\" she said. (05)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/belgium-plumps-for-appelmans-and-van-roost-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}