Injury-humbled Angie expects to bounce back in 2005<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Top women's tennis player Angelique 'Angie' Widjaja's blamed
\nrecurrent injuries for her dismal run this year but said
\nsuccessful knee surgery had boosted her hopes for a comeback in
\n2005.<\/p>\n
After turning pro in 1998, Angie quickly played her way into
\nthe country's top tennis spot and then proved she could take on
\nthe world, deservedly staking her claim as the successor to
\nformer Indonesian international Yayuk Basuki.<\/p>\n
The 18-year-old all-court player from Bandung, West Java,
\nfirst stepped into the international tennis spotlight by
\nsnatching the Wimbeldon junior singles title in 2001, and then
\nmaking off with another junior singles title a year later at the
\nFrench Open.<\/p>\n
She has also collected two Women's Tennis Association (WTA)
\ntitles -- as 2001 Wismilak Open champion in Bali and the 2002
\nVolvo Open champ in Pattaya, Thailand.<\/p>\n
Under the coaching of local trainer Deddy Tedjamukti, Angie
\nreached a career-best 55 in the WTA rankings, but the 2004 season
\nsaw her crash in early stages in as many tournaments and, as a
\nresult, her ranking dropped to a low of 132.<\/p>\n
Yayuk, who was able to break into top 20 during her heyday,
\nsaid that if Angie was satisfied with merely making it into the
\ntop 50 in the world, she should stay with present coach. However,
\na foreign coach was imperative if she wanted to join the tennis
\nelite, Yayuk said.<\/p>\n
Starting this year with high hopes, Angie had to exit early on
\nafter losing to Switzerland's Patty Schnyder in the first round
\nof the Australian Open, one of the four prestigious Grand Slam
\ntournaments.<\/p>\n
She upped her the challenge in the next tournament by
\nadvancing to the quarterfinals in Hyderabad, India, in February
\nbefore falling to a string of early exits in the following
\ntournaments.<\/p>\n
She signed up for Birmingham WTA and then Wimbledon where she
\nwon the junior title in 2001 only to find out she hadn't made it
\ninto the qualifying rounds.<\/p>\n
Her Olympic campaign was dashed in the early stages, crashing
\nto Croatia's Karolina Sprem in the singles. And her doubles run
\nwith Wynne ended similarly, the Indonesian pair going down in
\nflames to Sprem and Jelena Kostanic.<\/p>\n
After yet another first-round shutout at the U.S. Open, Angie
\nlooked to the Bali Wismilak International, a WTA tier III
\ntournament that earned her a title in 2001.<\/p>\n
And here at least, she was partially redeemed. However, while
\nthe support from local fans was distinctly strong, competition on
\nthe court proved stronger. But Angie did manage to take a few
\nlarge scalps before she was edged out by eventual champion
\nSvetlana Kuznetsova of Russia in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Admitting she was humbled by the recurrent tendon injury she
\nsustained at end of 2003, Angie decided to take a lengthy layoff,
\nfearing the muscle tear had been worsened by blood clots caused
\nby playing.<\/p>\n
It was a successful surgery in Australia and Angie looks ahead
\nwith optimism.<\/p>\n
\"I am optimistic that I can fully recover from the injury and
\nget back in shape for next year's tournaments,\" Angie said.<\/p>\n
Angie's poor run this year was redeemed by an inspirational
\nperformance that steered the women's team, consisting of Angie,
\nWynne Prakusya, Sandy Gumulya and Septi Mende, to the Fed Cup's
\nWorld Group II playoff, with a 4-1 victory over Slovenia.<\/p>\n
The victory rounded off an undefeated record for Indonesia,
\nwhich took out Uzbekistan, Taiwan, India, South Korea and New
\nZealand in the preceding Asia-Oceania Group matches.<\/p>\n
The Slovenia rout came in the wake of the men's team's success
\n-- comprising Febi Widhiyanto, Prima Simpatiaji, Suwandi, Bonit
\nWiryawan and Hendri Susilo Pramono -- in trouncing New Zealand 5-
\n0 in the Davis Cup's Asia-Oceania Group I playoff.<\/p>\n
While delighted by the team's victories, the Indonesian
\nNational Tennis association (Pelti) later received a slap in the
\nface by a rebellion led by the country's top players.<\/p>\n
Indonesia men's No 1 Febi Widhiyanto, Prima Simpatiaji, and
\nyoung star Septi Mende refused to join the Indonesia Awakens (IA)
\nsports program, currently grooming the country's best athletes
\nfor Indonesia's medal challenge at the 2006 Asian Games.<\/p>\n
The defectors said they were not happy with the trainers Pelti
\nhad assigned to the tennis team and their boycott is likely to
\ndisrupt Indonesia's tennis campaign at the SEA Games in 2005.<\/p>\n
The campaign is grooming plenty of new blood Indonesia can pin
\nits hopes on in the future, including possible Angie-successors
\nSepti, Ayu Fani Damayanti, Sandy Gumulya; and young men's players
\nSunu Wahyu Trijati, Sandi Purnomo, Ayrtan Wibowo and Agung Bagus.<\/p>\n
However, observers say a condusive domestic atmosphere must be
\ncreated if Indonesia is to make the best of its young hopefuls.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/injury-humbled-angie-expects-to-bounce-back-in-2005-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}