Andrian beats Suwandi in Satellite circuit

JAKARTA (JP): Andrian Raturandang proved his claim on the country's tennis throne when he ousted national number-one-ranked Suwandi to reach the semifinals of the Indonesian Satellite men's circuit yesterday.

The rivalry between the two players, who joined forces for West Java in the recent National Games, grew bitter at the Senayan clay court. Andrian won 7-6 (7-1), 4-6, 6-2 after a two- hour slugfest which saw Suwandi limp off the court with a cramp in his calf.

Suwandi strained his calf while trailing 2-5 in the deciding set. He received medical treatment, but to no avail. A disheartened Suwandi lost his serve and handed Andrian the match.

"Luck just played half the role in my victory. Suwandi is still a smart guy who can make me run," Andrian said afterwards. "It's great to reach the semifinals."

Playing mostly on the baseline, Suwandi broke Andrian's serve twice to lead 5-3, but failed to seal the set on his service game. Hard-hitting Andrian did not waste Suwandi's string of mistakes.

Suwandi came back to dominate the second set, firing angled drives which often left Andrian stranded. Andrian, complaining of a pulled tendon, slowed down the pace but to no avail.

Andrian, who took Suwandi's place in the Davis Cup team after Suwandi refused to play in a national selection tournament in June, will meet third-seed Dmitri Tomashevich of Uzbekistan in today's semifinals.

Tomashevich rallied to beat Vadim Kutsenko of Uzbekistan, 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2, in yesterday's other quarterfinal match.

Andrian said yesterday that Tomashevich, whose world ranking is 672 places better than the Indonesian, looked favorite to reach Saturday's final.

The other final berth will be decided in a match between Igor Gaudi of Italy and Martijn Bok who marched to victory in contrasting styles yesterday.

Second-seed Gaudi struggled all the way before edging out Austrian Bernd Christiandl 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, while fourth-seed Bok easily beat Indonesian qualifier Cahyono, 6-1, 6-2.

"It's fine to reach the semifinals, although I need extra persistence to overcome the heat," said Bok, who is seeking his second consecutive title in the circuit. "I will win this leg if I manage to survive tomorrow's match."

Bok also cruised to the semifinals in the doubles with Owen Casey of Ireland. The mixed nationality pair, winners in the first leg of the series in Bandung, West Java, beat Indonesian juniors Feby Widhiyanto and Januar Rajab 6-4, 6-2. (amd)