Prima to face Suzuki first up in Davis Cup<\/p>\n
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Prima Simpatiaji was on Wednesday handed the chance to steal a
\npoint from Japan in the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone World Group I
\nfirst round when he was drawn to face visiting No. 1 Takao Suzuki
\nin the opening singles match here on Friday.<\/p>\n
Prima's match will be followed by a tie between Indonesia No.
\n1 Febi Widhiyanto against Gouichi Motomura (ATP ranking 262),
\nTennis Association of Indonesia (Pelti) deputy secretary-general
\nAugust Ferry Raturandang told The Jakarta Post after the draw.<\/p>\n
There were no surprises in Wednesday's official draw with the
\nJapanese leaving Takahiro Terachi to partner U.S.-born Thomas
\nShimada in Saturday's pivotal doubles against the home team's
\nSuwandi and Hendri Susilo Pramono.<\/p>\n
At this stage, Sunday's reverse singles will feature Prima
\n(697) against Motomura and Febi (547) against Suzuki, currently
\nranked 205 in the world.<\/p>\n
The Japanese team is groomed by Australian Bob Brett, a former
\ncoach for Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisevic and Nicolas Kiefer,
\nwhile the home squad is handled by Tintus Arianto Wibowo, who is
\nalso the nonplaying captain of the team.<\/p>\n
Tintus was a member of the country's Davis Cup team 21 years
\nago, when Indonesia defeated Japan 4-1 at Senayan Gelora Bung
\nKarno sports complex. However, since 1969, Indonesia has not won
\nany of the subsequent five encounters.<\/p>\n
The Davis Cup match will take place from Feb. 6 through Feb. 8
\nat Senayan Tennis Courts in Jakarta. The event will be open to
\nthe public, with tickets costing Rp 20,000 (US$2.35). The Friday
\nmatch is scheduled to start at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
Wednesday's draw was followed by an official welcoming party
\nfor the Japanese squad, which arrived on Sunday. The party
\nfeatured local movie starlet Dian Sastro presenting both teams
\nwith Davis Cup watches from Fossil.<\/p>",
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