Febi beats Suwandi to retain Cigna title<\/p>\n
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Febi Widhiyanto defended his Cigna Open title by defeating top
\nseed Suwandi 6-7 (5\/7), 6-4, 6-4 at the Hilton Executive Club
\ntennis court in Jakarta on Sunday.<\/p>\n
And in the women's final Sandy Gumulya upset defending
\nchampion Liza Andriyani 6-4, 6-3 in the tournament, which
\nprovided US$9,000 in cash prizes.<\/p>\n
Febi shrugged off any lethargy he may have suffered from his
\nlong and tiring semifinal match against Peter Handoyo on Saturday
\nto deny Suwandi revenge for his loss last year.<\/p>\n
Febi, 23, who was stretched to tie-breaks in his three-set
\nvictory over Peter, exercised restraint to wear Suwandi down in
\nthe deciding set.<\/p>\n
\"We are equally tired during the closing set. It was just
\nbecause I was more patient than Suwandi out there that I won the
\nmatch,\" Febi said.<\/p>\n
Febi, who reveled in his consolation win in Indonesia's 2-3
\nloss to Uzbekistan in their Davis Cup tie last week, could have
\ntaken the opening set as he held control over his opponent during
\nthe tie-break.<\/p>\n
After saving himself from a set point three times, he had his
\nown chance to take it out but squandered a two-point lead during
\nthe tie-break at 5-3 when he let Suwandi win four consecutive
\npoints.<\/p>\n
\"I tried to expect points from my serving and volleying game,
\nwhich I actually rarely use myself. It backfired on me as Suwandi
\nheld them off with his good returns,\" said Febi, who will prepare
\nfor a challenger tournament in New Zealand within the next two
\nweeks.<\/p>\n
After exchanging breaks in the opening two games of the second
\nset, the two players held serve with the champion leading until
\nhe broke Suwandi in the closing game for a 6-4 win.<\/p>\n
Suwandi attacked early in the third set for a 2-0 lead but
\nFebi clawed back in the remaining games leaving Suwandi beginning
\nto languish at the baseline.<\/p>\n
He once seemed to take control when his sharp backhand slices
\nstifled Febi's serves only to find that he was broken back in the
\nfollowing games.<\/p>\n
\"Actually, I was not loosening up my offense. It might be
\nbecause my stamina was going down that I looked to be
\nretreating,\" the 27-year-old said, adding he was pondering
\nretirement but did not mention a definite year.<\/p>\n
\"It depends on how I perform in the next few tournaments,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Suwandi made amends for his loss by taking the doubles prize
\nwith Peter Handoyo at the expense of Febi and Hendri Susilo
\nPramono for a 7-6 (7\/5), 6-0 victory.<\/p>\n
Liza and Wukirasih Sawondari retained their women's doubles
\ntitle after they thumped Eny Sulistyowati and Mimma Chernovita 6-
\n0, 6-2 in the final on Saturday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/febi-beats-suwandi-to-retain-cigna-title-1447893297",
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