Angie set for January return
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
National number one Angelique "Angie" Widjaja has opted to give next month's Southeast Asian (SEA) Games a miss, setting a target to return to the WTA Tour in January.
Angie's manager Virginia "Vivi" Rusli said on Tuesday the Bandung native would play the Australian Open warmup tournaments and the Grand Slam in January if all went well with her recovery from left knee surgery.
"That is our program. Besides, Angie is eager to play tennis but she has to wait for her total recovery from her left knee injury," Vivi said.
After concentrating on building up her thigh strength to reduce the risk of further injury to her knee, Angie, who will turn 21 on Dec. 12, began to practice on Tuesday.
"Theoretically, with less burden on her knees, we hope that Angie will not suffer injury in the same areas," Vivi added.
Angie suffered the knee injury during the Qatar Open in February last year. She returned to the WTA Tour after three months, but underwent surgery in Australia in November 2004.
She has put off a return to the tour several times, including giving up a wildcard to play the Wismilak International -- a tournament she won on her debut in 2001 -- in Bali in September.
In June, she underwent surgery after developing an infection in the knee.
Her rankings -- she reached a singles high of 55 in March 2003 and 15 in doubles in February 2004 -- have slipped off the computer after a year of inactivity.
Angie, who enjoyed a sparkling junior career that included the Wimbledon (2001) and Roland Garros (2002) crowns, is expected to play in the Fed Cup World Group II tie here against China in April.
"Ibu (Mrs.) Martina Widjaja, the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) chairwoman, has asked Angie to totally concentrate on her recovery program. She understood that Angie could not play in the SEA Games, but she asked Angie to be ready for the Fed Cup next year," Vivi said.
Indonesia is seeded second in the group, behind Switzerland and ahead of Croatia and Thailand, but the Chinese women -- led by Li Na -- will be a tough prospect.
For the 2005 SEA Games, Pelti said it would prepare either Septi Mende or Maya Rosa to replace Angie.
Wynne Prakusya, Romana Tedjakusuma and Ayu Fani Damayanti -- who played Fed Cup this year -- have secured slots for the SEA Games women's tennis team.
In the 2003 SEA Games, Indonesia won three golds, with women's doubles Wynne/Maya contributing one gold. The other two golds were from the men's team and mixed doubles events.