Angie hopes for turnaround in 2004

Angie hopes for turnaround in 2004

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After a disappointing run last year, Angelique 'Angie' Widjaja
of Indonesia will be more selective about the tournaments she
chooses to play this year.

At the beginning of last year, she announced a full slate of
tournaments that she would attend.

But this time around Angie said that she would open the 2004
season with just four scheduled tournaments before deciding what
other tournaments to enter.

While hopes for improvement in her ranking are still high,
Angie, who will be looking to end the year with a place in the
top 50, said that she would have to excel at the smaller number
of tournaments she does go to.

"I have decided on the first four tournaments that I will be
playing in. Then I'll see about the others," Angie told reporters
here on Tuesday.

She was accompanied by her mother, coach Deddy Tedjamukti and
manager Virginia Rusli.

The four selected tournaments include the Australian Open in
Melbourne, the Toray Pan Pacific in Tokyo, the Indian Open in
Hyderabad and the Dubai Women's Open.

"I haven't decided yet what other tournaments to enter. It
depends on how I perform in the first four," Angie said.

Closing the 2002 season with the Volvo Master's victory in
Pattaya, Thailand, Angie reached a singles career high of 55th in
the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) rankings that came out in
March 2003, only to stumble to a low of 95th by the end of the
year following a string of mediocre performances.

Blaming her slump on the hectic competition schedule and her
health, during which she had played without much rest or practice
time throughout the year, Angie is pondering a break. She may
return home for rest after the four tournaments before resuming
competition.

She seems to have been able to overcome some nagging injuries.
She injured her left knee during her unsuccessful defense of the
Volvo Master's in November.

After a scan during her training session in Arizona, in the
United States in December, it was found that her left leg was a
few millimeters longer than her right, a defect which caused her
to be injury-prone.

To overcome the slight difference Angie was fitted with a
custom shoe with a thicker sole on the right foot, and it is
hoped that will prevent more problems.

The 19-year-old Indonesian tennis star said that she had also
overcome a scare when she twisted her ankle during practices in
her home town of Bandung, West Java, over Christmas, as it turned
out to be a minor strain.

Angie said that the ten-day Arizona camp, in which she sparred
with active and past stars like Martina Hingis of Switzerland,
was very good for her overall game.

Nevertheless, she was cautious about her chances at the
Australian Open, saying that much would depend on the draw in the
singles competition.

She will also play doubles with her partner Maria Vento-Kabchi
of Venezuela. Angie is ranked 18th in the doubles.