Rematch sure for Yayuk at Australian Open<\/p>\n
MELBOURNE, Australia (Agencies): Indonesia's lonely flag
\ncarrier in top-flight tennis, Yayuk Basuki, overcame a partisan
\ncrowd and center court nerves here yesterday to win a third round
\nspot and a rematch against Germany's Anke Huber in the Australian
\nOpen.<\/p>\n
Making only her second center court appearance in a Grand
\nSlam tourney, the 24-year-old from Yogyakarta disappointed a
\npacked crowd by thrashing home-town player Nicole Bradtke 7-5, 6-
\n4<\/p>\n
\"It was fun actually. I really enjoyed it. The first couple
\nof games I was feeling uncomfortable but after that it was okay,\"
\nshe said.<\/p>\n
Yayuk, who is ranked 29th in the world, was last on center
\ncourt at Wimbledon in 1993. She notched her best performance here
\nin 1992 when she reached the third round but lost to Monica
\nSeles.<\/p>\n
Yayuk said the home-crowd was \"no problem. I expected it.\"
\nBut the match was patchy, with Yayuk admitting to many errors. In
\nthe second set, she allowed the Australian to go from 1-1 to 3-1
\nbefore she reacted.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian, who is coached by her husband Suharyadi,
\nsaid that Bradtke appeared scared of her big forehand. \"Bradtke
\ntried to put things on my backhand all the time,\" said elated
\nYayuk.<\/p>\n
Yayuk, who was the first Indonesian woman player to turn
\nprofessional five years ago, will meet 10th seed Huber in the
\nthird round. They have met before and are tied at 1-1.<\/p>\n
Huber was barely troubled in dispatching Australian teenager
\nSiobhan Drake Brockman for the loss of just one game.<\/p>\n
Seventh seed Kimiko Date had more on her mind than the
\ntournament yesterday, spending most of her spare time telephoning
\nfamily and friends after the destructive Japanese earthquake.<\/p>\n
But Date said after beating Kazakhstan's Elena Likhovtseva
\n6-2, 6-2 that she spent a sleepless night and constantly watched
\ntelevision news bulletins through Tuesday on the latest from the
\ntrembler that devastated the Japanese city of Kobe and slammed
\nthrough Kyoto and Osaka, killing more than 1,800 people.<\/p>\n
\"My family home is in Kyoto, but it's okay. And I lived
\nthree years in Kobe, so I have many friends there,\" 24-year-old
\nDate told a news conference.<\/p>\n
Date's compatriot Naoko Sawamatsu won her first round match
\nyesterday only hours after being told that the earthquake had
\ndemolished her parents' home in Nishinomiya, east of Kobe, where
\nthe damage was greatest.<\/p>\n
Number two Conchita Martinez easily defeated another German,
\nVeronika Martinek, in a second round match but afterwards
\ncomplained of a sore neck that had hampered her top-spin
\nbackhand.<\/p>\n
Stark warning<\/p>\n
In the men's singles, a super-relaxed Jim Courier was
\nheading for a quarterfinal showdown with world number one Pete
\nSampras after a stunning three-set demolition of Italy's
\nCristiano Caratti.<\/p>\n
The ninth seed, finding Melbourne the ideal venue to parade
\na new laid-back image, followed up his impressive first round
\nvictory over the Czech Republic's David Rikl with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-1
\nwin over Caratti in just 80 minutes.<\/p>\n
\"It's a different atmosphere here... It's a lot more relaxed
\nthan the other three grand slams,\" said Courier, who has pledged
\nto enjoy life more this year after a forgettable 1994 when his
\nranking slipped from number three to a year-end 13.<\/p>\n
While Courier was having fun on Center Court, Caratti was
\nplainly suffering, particularly in the third set when the
\nAmerican took the first nine points before wrapping up the set in
\n23 minutes.<\/p>\n
Courier, who said he wanted to put 1994 behind him and play
\nto his strengths, namely his serve and forehand, that won the
\nsingles titles here in 1992 and 1993. He lost to Sampras in last
\nyear's semifinals.<\/p>\n
And he is likely to face the number one seed again in the
\ntop half of the draw after his fellow American gave a similar
\nawesome second-round performance in removing Jan Kroslak of
\nSlovakia 6-2, 6-0, 6-1.<\/p>\n
Seeded number seven Michael Stich lifted German gloom in the
\naftermath of Boris Becker's shock exit at the Australian Open
\nwith a stark warning to his rivals at Flinders Park.<\/p>\n
\"I believe I can raise my game another 30 to 40 percent and
\ndo much better than I've done in previous years,\" Stich declared
\nafter leading the charge into the third round with a 6-0, 6-3, 6-
\n4 demolition of unseeded American Alex O'Brien on Center Court.<\/p>\n
Stich emerged as Germany's last realistic hope for the men's
\ntitle when Becker fell in straight sets to American Patrick
\nMcEnroe on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
In yesterday's later action, Michael Chang powered to a
\nstraight sets victory over Moroccan Karim Alami to reach the
\nthird round. The fifth seeded American needed 102 minutes to
\ndispose of the 105-ranked Alami from Casablanca, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.<\/p>\n
Chang, who beat Sampras to win the Kooyong classic here last
\nweekend in the lead-up to the year's first Grand Slam, will now
\nplay Martin Damm of the Czech Republic in the third round.<\/p>",
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