Andrian beats Suwandi in Satellite circuit

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)