Andrian to play 2nd singles in Davis Cup

JAKARTA (JP): Andrian Raturandang will play as the second singles in place of Hendri Susilo Pramono in the Davis Cup Group I Asia Oceania zone tie against Uzbekistan from Feb. 9 to Feb. 11.

The secretary-general of the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti), Soegeng Sarjadi, said during a media conference on Monday that besides Andrian, the association also has called on Yusmawan Fahmi, Sebastian Da Costa and Suhendar Dinata to serve as substitutes.

Indonesia expects to earn points from Suwandi in the opening match on Friday at the Kemayoran tennis center in Central Jakarta, and in the first doubles match on Saturday.

"We are expecting the players to play all out. We are also hoping for miracles."

Hendri withdrew from the team only a week before the tie is scheduled to begin, citing the poor treatment he received from Pelti's official in charge of athlete development, Sudjiono Timan.

Pelti then approached Febi Widhiyanto, as well as Andrian and Suhendar, to join the team, but the 20-year-old Febi, who is Hendri's best friend, turned down the offer. He said he was unprepared to play on the plexi-pave surface.

Soegeng said Hendri's withdrawal would not affect the spirit and desire of the team. "Hendri's resignation has no effect on the other team members."

But he said Pelti deeply regretted Hendri and Febi's decision, which he said were purely emotional.

"We have been preparing for the Davis Cup tie for some time and no other team members got as much support from Pelti as Hendri and Febi. We supported them so they could compete in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and India.

"As a parent to all the players, Pelti cares about their futures. The players and Pelti officials should build a unified vision. To be a champion, a player must have a vision."

Soegeng also said Pelti had done its best to help Hendri and Febi improve their world rankings. "I am afraid most people will not be sympathetic toward the two players."

Pelti's official in charge of competition, Soebronto Laras, who also attended the media conference, said the association would wait for Hendri and Febi to change their attitudes before giving them a second chance to join the national squad.

"Tennis is an individual sport and we have formed a good team to fight in the Davis Cup and Southeast Asian Games. We may consider the players as betraying their commitment, but we do not want to disgrace them.

"So we will see what kind of attitude and motivation they have before inviting them to join the national team."

In the Davis Cup tie, Indonesia will field top national player Suwandi as the first singles and veteran doubles players Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo.

"We do not just subjectively pick the team members. Suwandi is ranked in the 400s in the world and has the highest ATP singles ranking of our players, while Andrian is ranked 1,092 and Bonit 1,023. But Bonit and Sulistyo do not have an ATP ranking as a doubles team," Soegeng said.

The Uzbekistan team will comprise Oleg Ogorodov, Vadim Kutsenko, Dmitriy Tomashevich and Dmitry Mazur. (ivy)