Angelique Widjaja wants to enter the world top 20

JAKARTA (JP): Living a secluded life does not prevent women's tennis player Angelique Widjaja from shining. Angelique, who will turn 17 on Dec. 12, just concluded her campaign in the Australian Open junior championships last week.

In the singles event, Angie (her nickname) bowed out in the third round to Slovakian Lenka Dlhopolcova 3-6, 1-6. She passed through the second round by ousting Hungarian player Boglarka Berecz and Russian Ivanov in the first round.

However, she fared better in the doubles with her partner Dea Sumantri. The team, seeded two in this event, managed to cruise to the quarterfinals before losing to non-seeded partners Anna Bastrikova and Svetlana Kuznetsova from Russia 4-6, 5-7.

Angie's best achievement in the doubles was reaching the 2000 US Open junior semifinals, when she teamed up with Kumiko Iijima of Japan.

She is easily noticeable on court with her towering posture, which measures 173 centimeters high, and her overflowing smile. She is dubbed as one of the country's brightest prospective players after Wynne Prakusya and veteran Yayuk Basuki.

"I have dreamt of being a world tennis player ever since an early age. I want to enter the world's top 20, hopefully I can accomplish it in my 20s. I have spent my childhood on tennis courts, so I won't stop until I fulfill my target," she said on Tuesday.

She started playing tennis when she was four. Father Rico Widjaja and mother Amanda Salim registered her in the FIKS tennis school in her hometown Bandung.

"I used to follow my five brothers when they practiced tennis. They liked to tease me, asking me to pick up balls," said the youngest of six siblings.

She said she admired top women's player Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Lindsay Davenport of the United States.

"But I haven't got their autographs although I saw their performances at the Australian Open because the senior and junior events take place some distance away from each other."

Her loving parents can always be spotted on court, watching her performances and encouraging her when she is down.

"As of today, we still manage to fund Angie's overseas trip. We receive little financial support from others, including the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti). She wants to be a tennis player, and we don't want to stop her from fulfilling her dream. She's got enough talent, and she is consistent," said Amanda.

When Angie ends her daily exercises, she prefers spending her spare time in her room, listening to the radio or chatting on the internet.

"I'm too exhausted to hang out with my friends," she said, adding that her daily activities involve studying at the Taruna Bakti high school from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and practicing tennis from 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. (ivy)