Davis Cup heroes return to thrill tennis officials<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A warm welcome and enthusiasm for future
\nchallenges met the Indonesian Davis Cup team as it arrived at the
\nnational tennis headquarters yesterday.<\/p>\n
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja was the most enthusiastic of the
\nofficials who greeted the team at the headquarters. He was
\nthrilled by the team's 3-2 victory over the Philippines.<\/p>\n
"I hope the victory could bring in more companies to sponsor
\nthe team at a number of competitions," said Sarwono, the state
\nminister of environment and also chairman of the Indonesian
\nTennis Association.<\/p>\n
The victorious Davis Cup team of Suwandi, Andrian Raturandang,
\nBonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo returned from Manila
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Indonesia defeated the Philippines 3-2 in the first round tie
\nof the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Group which ended Sunday.<\/p>\n
The victory means Indonesia will face New Zealand in the next
\nround in Jakarta in April.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian players completed a mighty comeback after
\nlosing 0-2 in the opening singles last Friday to the Philippines
\nwhen Robert Angelo beat Suwandi 7-6 7-6 6-3 and Joseph Lizardo
\novercame Andrian 6-4 5-7 7-5.<\/p>\n
The doubles team of Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo made it
\n1-2 after beating Pio Tolentino and Michael Misa in straight sets
\n6-1 6-4 6-0 Saturday.<\/p>\n
Suwandi bounced back from his disappointing loss in the
\nopening singles and beat Joseph Lizardo 6-2 1-6 6-3 5-7 6-2 to
\nmake the score 2-2 for Indonesia on Sunday.<\/p>\n
On the same day, Bonit Wiryawan, playing in place of Andrian,
\ntook the score to 3-2 after beating Angelo in five sets 6-2 1-6
\n4-6 6-1 6-3.<\/p>\n
"Our players were not disturbed by the 2-0 loss but instead
\nwere confident they could beat the Philippines. This was also
\nevident in the way Australia managed to defeat France in the
\nworld group Davis Cup tie," Sarwono said.<\/p>\n
Optimistic<\/p>\n
He was optimistic that Indonesia could beat New Zealand in the
\nnext tie here.<\/p>\n
"Indonesia will beat New Zealand so long as the team is well
\nprepared, physically and mentally," Sarwono said.<\/p>\n
Andrian, the second singles player who lost to Lizardo, was
\nfrustrated by comments that he lost because of over confidence.
\nHe blamed his loss on poor air circulation in the Indoor
\nPhilippines Columbian Association stadium.<\/p>\n
"It's not true my loss to Lizardo was because of my over
\nconfidence but because of the stadium's poor air circulation,"
\nAndrian said.<\/p>\n
Andrian had a chance to win the match after stealing the
\nsecond set, even though he vomited during the set.<\/p>\n
In the third set, Andrian's physical condition deteriorated.
\nHe vomited again, but struggled on regardless. Andrian finished
\nthe match before being sent to hospital.<\/p>\n
Virgilo Sison, the Philippines non-playing captain told The
\nManila Times recently that he was upset by their players'
\nperformance in the competition but admired the Indonesians sudden
\ncomeback victory.<\/p>\n
"Our boys played well, but the Indonesians displayed super-
\nhuman qualities. I'm hats off to them," the Times quoted Sison as
\nsaying.<\/p>\n
Sison added, "Yes, we had some miscalculations and some
\ntimings were off. And I take full responsibility for these."
\n(lnt)<\/p>",
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