Angelique to wait her turn in Fed Cup, SEAG
JAKARTA (JP): Being a Wimbledon junior champion does not automatically give Angelique Widjaja a privilege in the country's Federation Cup and Southeast Asian (SEA) Games teams.
Angie, as the tennis player is known, must still compete with Yayuk Basuki, Romana Tedjakusuma and Wynne Prakusya to perform as the first or second singles for the Fed Cup World Group qualifying zone in Vienna on July 21 and July 22. The same squad will compete in the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur from Sept. 8 to Sept. 17.
How Angie is utilized in both events depends on the hands of team manager Martina Widjaja, who is not related to the player.
"A Wimbledon junior title means nothing for our Fed Cup struggle in Austria. I have to see the atmosphere and the players' skills before deciding who will play in the singles events and in the doubles," Martina said on Wednesday at a ceremony staged by PT Berca Sportindo, the distributor for U.S. sports manufacturer Nike, to celebrate Angie's Wimbledon victory.
"If a player performs poorly because she cannot handle the pressure, she could spoil the performance of the whole team."
Angie won the Wimbledon junior title on Sunday, defeating Russian Dinara Safina 6-4, 0-6, 7-5.
Angie's father, Rico Widjaja, expressed his desire to see his daughter play in the singles events at the Fed Cup.
"If she can't play in the singles, it will be no use to go to Austria."
Martina said she wanted to make sure the 16-year-old was comfortable with the atmosphere of a senior team event.
"I also took Angie and Dea (Sumantri) to watch the senior players at the Fed Cup Group One qualifying in Osaka, Japan, last year, to enrich their experience and help them become more mature in tennis."
Martina, who is also the Indonesian Tennis Association head of development, promotion and international relations, has been criticized in the media following Angie's victory in London, which makes her the first Indonesian and the third Asian girl to win the Wimbledon junior title.
Martina is the patroness for Wynne, Dea, Romana and men's singles player Suwandi, but none of these players have made a mark in professional tennis.
At the ceremony, Angie received a Rp 20 million (US$1,762) cash bonus from PT Berca Sportindo and another Rp 30 million from the company's CEO, Murdaya.
Purnomo M. Yudi, the company's marketing manager, told reporters that Nike planned to increase Angie's sponsorship contract by up to 300 percent.
"I can't tell you the value of the contract but we will increase it by up to 300 percent. It's time for us to appreciate Indonesian athletes who have sacrificed their teen years for sports," said Purnomo, a former top sprinter in Asia.
"Nike will certainly maintain its support for Angie although the four-year contract will end in October. She has made us proud with her achievements. We have decided to extend our sponsorship but we still have to negotiate with her parents."
A devout Christian, Angie pledged to give 10 percent of her bonus as a tithe.
Later in the afternoon, Angie met President Abdurrahman Wahid at the Merdeka Palace. She was accompanied by her parents and coaches Meyske Handayani Wiguna and Deddy Tedjamukti.
During the meeting, Abdurrahman told Angie to call him if she ever needed help, such as obtaining Garuda plane tickets.
Abdurrahman also urged Angie to continue her studies despite her hectic schedule of tennis tournaments, detik.com reported. (ivy)