Angie set for January return

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.