Eddy shows form to beat Suwandi for first time<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Eddy Kusdaryanto shelved his long-time status as
\na mere bridesmaid of Suwandi when he upset the Indonesian number
\none tennis player 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 yesterday on the opening
\nday of a national selection tournament.<\/p>\n
Eddy was making his first appearance after an eight-month
\nlapse due to hepatitis A, but he proved his private practice
\nunder tutelage of Dedy Prasetyo made perfect.<\/p>\n
\"It's great that I finally ended my losing streak to Suwandi,\"
\nsaid Eddy who recorded his first win in four meetings with
\nSuwandi, his doubles partner.<\/p>\n
Suwandi and Eddy were once Indonesia's best doubles team. They
\ntook the Asian Championships silver medal last year and served as
\nIndonesia's backbone in the Davis Cup throughout the season.<\/p>\n
Eddy said that he did not push himself to the limit during his
\nworkouts prior to the week-long Indonesia Tennis Association
\ntournament at the Senayan clay courts. \"The doctor says I have
\nnot yet recovered 100 percent from my illness,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The 23-year-old player, in his quest to rejoin the country's
\nelite team, made up for both his reach and height disadvantages
\nby forcing a number of rallies that locked Suwandi to the
\nbaseline.<\/p>\n
Eddy, whose agility in a Davis Cup doubles match against South
\nKorea early this year drew massive applause from his home crowd,
\nused all the experience of international duties in the past two
\nyears, to wear out Suwandi's patience.<\/p>\n
The diminutive Eddy came to the net only when there was a
\nchance, punishing anything wild, volleying precisely and
\nproducing a number of spectacular drop-shot winners.<\/p>\n
Suwandi, who missed out representing the national team for six
\nmonths in his quest to improve his ranking, could have clinched
\nthe victory after taking the second set. Last-gasp unforced
\nerrors, however, cost him the morale-boosting win.<\/p>\n
\"The defeat indicates something is wrong with Suwandi's
\npreparations for this tournament,\" his coach Dedy said.<\/p>\n
Suwandi would keep his hopes to rejoin the national team alive
\nif he beats Samsudin Pare in today's group match. Eddy plays
\nJeffry Trihandriansyah, a 3-6, 1-6 loser to Samsudin yesterday.<\/p>\n
The six-monthly tournament features 16 selected players of
\neach sex. They are divided into four groups, with the top two
\nplayers winning places in the national men's and women's teams.<\/p>\n
Other favorites, Andrian Raturandang, Sebastian da Costa and
\nBonit Wiryawan, all got off to a fine start with straight-sets
\nwins.<\/p>\n
In the women's event, Mercu Buana champion Enny Sulistyowati
\ndisplayed the day's most ruthless tennis when she blanked Audra
\nBernadette, a stand-in for Natalia Soetrisno who pulled out
\nthrough injury, 6-0, 6-0.<\/p>\n
The same scoreline was repeated when Fed Cup member Wynne
\nPrakusya trounced the bottom-ranked Sediati Merdaningsih. (amd)<\/p>",
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