Defending champ Sunu faces Ocvirk challenges<\/p>\n
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Young Indonesian tennis star Sunu Wahyu Trijati is only one
\nstep away from successfully defending his title in the 2004
\nSalonpas International Junior Tennis Championships, after he
\ndefeated compatriot Elbert Sie 7-5, 6-3 in their semifinal match
\nat the Kemayoran Tennis Center on Friday.<\/p>\n
Sunu, the fifth seed the tournament, has second seed Luka
\nOcvirk, of Slovenia, to tackle in Saturday's final.<\/p>\n
Ocvirk beat seventh seed Takanobu Fujii of Japan 7-6 (7\/2), 1-
\n6, 6-2, to secure his place.<\/p>\n
It was a tight semifinal encounter between Sunu and Elbert,
\nparticularly in the first set. Neither players lost service until
\nin the eleventh game in which Sunu managed to break Elbert before
\nholding onto his own to win 7-5.<\/p>\n
The second set was more favorable to Sunu, as he immediately
\ntook a convincing 3-1 lead. Elbert tried hard, closing the gap to
\na game at 4-3, but Sunu didn't let him get any further than that.<\/p>\n
However, it was not an easy run for the defending champion as
\nElbert stayed resilient until the end, when it seemed poor
\nconcentration cost him the match.<\/p>\n
In the ninth game, at 30-30, Elbert made double fault, giving
\nSunu a match point. A crossed backhand volley in front of the net
\nended Elbert's run at 6-3.<\/p>\n
Looking ahead to his Ocvirk match, Sunu said his opponent
\nwould be tough, particularly as the Slovenian had a 17cm height
\nadvantage -- at 185cm tall to Sunu's 168cm.<\/p>\n
\"However, I will play a tactical game early on against Ocvirk
\nand see if it works,\" Sunu told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Both being baseline players, the match would likely be a
\nbattle of long drives, Sunu said.<\/p>\n
\"I'll do my best to win the match tomorrow,\" he said, adding
\nthat the Saturday meeting would be their first.<\/p>\n
A match between hot contenders will also decide the winner in
\nthe girls' singles, with top seed Hsu Wen-Hsin of Taiwan to meet
\nsecond seed Pichitra Tongdach of Thailand.<\/p>\n
Hsu outplayed fourth seed Nicole Thijssen of the Netherlands
\n6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals, while Tongdach overwhelmed third seed
\nTatjana Malek of Germany 7-5, 6-4.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/defending-champ-sunu-faces-ocvirk-challenges-1447893297",
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