Angie blames hectic schedule for dismal run
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A hectic play schedule has been blamed for Angelique 'Angie' Widjaja's dismal run in the 2003 season, which has seen her singles' world ranking drop from a career high 55 to the current 73.
Angie will have played 25 tournaments when she defends her title at the Volvo Women's Open in Pattaya, Thailand, early November.
However, her doubles ranking has equaled her best of 20 after she and Emmanuelle Gagliardi of Switzerland reached Tashkent's semifinals last week.
The number of tournaments turned out to be more than she could cope with in her singles' campaign.
"I toured Europe for nine weeks before returning home for the Fed Cup (in July). But I have hardly been able to take a break since then with tournaments in the United States," Angie told reporters after an announcement of her sponsorship with sports apparel maker Adidas here on Thursday.
After rounding 2002 with a victory in Pattaya, Angie entered the 2003 season with high hopes of breaking into a place in the world's top 50.
But the second round appears all that she could reach in her tournament stops, the latest being the Dubai Open, where she fell to Eva Birnerova in the second round.
Her best performance was at the Wismilak tournament in September where she advanced to the quarterfinals before going down to Saori Obata of Japan.
Angie said that she had lost confidence particularly in recent tournaments.
"I seemed scared. But I don't know what I was scared about. I felt it worst in Japan and Tashkent," she said.
She lost to Yuka Yoshida of Japan 4-6, 5-7 in the first round in Japan and went down to Lioudmila Skavronskaia of Russia 6- 7(3), 1-6 in second round in Tashkent.
Looking ahead for next year's season, coach Deddy Tedjamukti said that they would probably plan for Angie to play in as many as 22 tournaments.
"We are looking for a break for her to take a rest at home between tournaments," Deddy said.
Being unable to finish in the top 10 seemed to disappoint Angie but the 17-year-old was trying to be positive about it.
"It's disappointing. But hopefully that will motivate me to improve my next game.
"And I feel better now after following a training regime this week. I have regained my shots," said Angie, who had opted for a ten-day training camp in Scottsdale, Arizona, early December instead of joining the Indonesian sporting delegation for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Vietnam.
Asked about her Pattaya's defense campaign, Angie said that she would not be too preoccupied by a feeling of having to win.
"I will simply be trying to improve my play," she said.
While she is faltering in the singles, she has fared modestly in the doubles to reach the top 20.
Most of Angie's wins this year were when she paired up with her permanent partner, Maria Vento-Kabchi of Venezuela. They reached the final in Toronto and won Bali's title. They also reached the quarterfinals in Wimbledon and the US Open.