Angelique continues Bali winning streak
Angelique continues Bali winning streak
NUSA DUA, Bali (Agencies): Indonesia's Angelique Widjaja
smashed her way to the semifinals of the US$170,000 Wismilak
International tennis tournament Friday, sending second-seeded
Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand packing.
The 16-year-old Wimbledon junior champion Widjaja came from
behind to eliminate Tamarine 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 through a grueling 90-
minute match.
"I'm happy with this victory. That is merely a God's
blessing," said Angelique, who reached the quarterfinals after
her opponent Alicia Molik of Australia retired with a flu.
Angelique, the lone Indonesian player left in the draw, next
faces her long rival, Hsieh Su Wei of Taiwan, who made it easily
to the best-of-four round by disposing of Shinobu Asagoe of
Japan, 6-1, 6-4.
It will be the tenth encounter between Angelique and Hsieh
with a 5-4 win margin in favor of the Indonesian. A win could
take Angelinque to a much-awaited final showdown against top
seeded Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario of Spain.
Sanchez-Vicario was taken to the limit before overcoming Rita
Grande of Italy 7-6, 4-6, 6-3 in another quarterfinal match on
Friday.
In Hong Kong, Davis Cup doubles partners Jonas Bjorkman and
Magnus Larsson suffered a pair of Swedish singles setbacks as
both were sent out in straight sets of the $400,000 Hong Kong
Open.
Less than a week after playing on the Davis Cup team that lost
to Australia in Sydney in the semifinals, the pair was sent
packing at the Victoria Park stadium.
Brazil's unheralded Andre Sa did the damage to sixth seed
Bjorkman, knocking out the Scandinavian 6-1, 6-3.
Flamboyant Andrew Ilie kept his showmanship to a minimum and
concentrated on the task at hand in his 6-3, 6-3 victory over
Larsson, who was playing in his first quarter-final of a dismal
and injury-plagued season.
Ilie's victory improved his career mark against Larsson, who
was away from tennis from last August until this April after knee
surgery, to 2-0.
The 25-year-old Romanian-born Aussie beat the Swede at home in
Bastad at the Swedish Open on clay in July.
In later matches to complete the semifinal lineup on hard-
court, top seed Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain was facing German
Rainer Schuttler and eighth-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile was
taking on Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean, the tournament's third
seed.
Grosjean will be competing in his seventh quarterfinal of the
year after ousting another Chilean, Rios' Davis Cup teammate,
Nicolas Massu.
The Frenchman, who reached the Australian Open semifinals, is
aiming to reignite his seasons after missing the summer with an
ankle in plaster and only re-starting at the US Open.
"I wasn't in good shape there," he confessed.
"I have to tape my ankle, but everyday it gets better and
better."
Grosjean said he is enjoying a contrast in weather between
autumn in Europe and the Hong Kong's warm days at this time of
year.
"It's not really hot, but it's humid," he said. "I spent three
weeks in Europe where it's 10 degrees and raining. It's
completely different, but I'm getting used to it."