RI avoids relegation with Uzbekistan win<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Up-and-down Indonesia had the last laugh at the
\nFed Cup Asia\/Oceania Group One women's tennis tournament in
\nBangkok on Friday, beating Uzbekistan 3-0 to avoid relegation.<\/p>\n
The result put Wynne Prakusya and company fifth in the 10-team
\nfield after two wins and two defeats. They finished sixth in last
\nyear's event, also in Bangkok.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) deputy secretary
\ngeneral, Benny Mailili, expressed his delight, saying the outcome
\nwas more than he had expected. Indonesia set a modest target of
\navoiding relegation to Group Two prior to the tournament.<\/p>\n
\"I knew that on paper we must win but I did not expect them to
\nscore a big win. I thought it would have been 2-1. It's a relief
\nthat we are still in Group One,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Second singles choice Irawati Moerid Iskandar made up for her
\ndefeat on Thursday with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 victory over Lilia
\nBiktyakova in a tiring match to give Indonesia an early lead.<\/p>\n
Wynne Prakusya, the team's anchor after Indonesia's tennis
\nqueen Yayuk Basuki retired early this year, clinched the result
\nwith a convincing 6-2, 6-0 win over Natalie Nikitina.<\/p>\n
Irawati and Wynne teamed up to crush the Uzbekistan pairing of
\nBiktyakova and Nikitina 6-0, 6-2.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, national men's team coach, Dedy Prasetyo, said his
\nDavis Cup team members had canceled their planned Philippines
\nouting after they were denied a guaranteed entry to the draw at
\ntwo satellite tournaments there.<\/p>\n
The tournaments run in successive weeks, starting on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"Our Davis Cup players don't have ATP rankings so the
\ntournament organizers put us on the waiting list. It's a waste of
\nmoney if we fly to Manila without any guarantee of playing,\" Dedy
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
About 100 players have been registered in both tournaments,
\nbut only 48 will be admitted.<\/p>\n
National number one Andrian Raturandang, world ranked 840,
\nwill become the only Indonesian to compete in the tournaments.
\nAndrian failed to join the Davis Cup team after losing in the
\nnational selection process last month.<\/p>\n
Indonesia will field Febi Widhiyanto, Suwandi, Edy Kusdaryanto
\nand Hendri Susilo Pramono when it hosts the Philippines in their
\nDavis Cup Asia\/Oceania Group Two second round match on April 2 to
\nApril 4.<\/p>\n
The Philippines has requested the International Tennis
\nFederation (ITF) moves the match to a neutral country, citing
\nsafety concerns in the wake of riots in Indonesia. The ITF is
\nexpected to decide on the issue next week.<\/p>\n
Pelti also announced Friday it would stage the Baskin Robbins
\nInternational Junior Championships in Kemayoran from April 8 to
\n14.<\/p>\n
Seventy-eight boys and 53 girls from 21 countries have
\nconfirmed their participation in the event. Unfortunately, no
\nIndonesian boys have been admitted to the main draw due to poor
\nrankings.<\/p>\n
Peter-Jon Nombo of South Africa, ITF junior ranked 67, is the
\ntop seed in the boys' event while Nicola Rencken, ITF junior 61,
\nheads the girls' draw. (yan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-avoids-relegation-with-uzbekistan-win-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}