Angie still in doubt for Fed Cup tie
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The tough proposition of facing Germany in a World Group II Fed Cup tie could become a mission impossible for the national women's tennis team if Angelique "Angie" Widjaja is ruled out by a nagging knee injury.
Indonesia would relish the opportunity to avenge its defeat from the same stage last year when the teams meet on April 23-24 in Essen, but any realistic hope of winning rests on number one Angie recovering in time for the tie.
The Germans will have the home court advantage of playing on slow European red clay, with veteran Barbara Rittner and up-and- coming Anna-Lena Groenefeld providing tough opposition.
"We'll see in the next two weeks how Angie is shaping up with her knee. We have a doctor to consult about her condition," Angie's coach Deddy Tedjamukti said after putting his charge through a light workout on the clay courts in the Senayan complex, Central Jakarta.
Angie had surgery on her left knee in Australia last November after a quarterfinal loss at the Wismilak International in Bali, a tournament she won in 2001.
The former Wimbledon and French Open junior champion, who has not trained since January, tried out various shots on Tuesday, watched intently by team captain Suzanna Anggarkusuma and manager Virginia Rusli.
Appearing cautious about putting too much weight on her suspect knee, the 20 year old practiced her serve seated in a chair.
"It is only 30 percent of her power. We don't want to push her to the limit because we fear that would damage the knee instead," Deddy said.
"She is still hurting during movement. She struggles to reach a far ball. We are simply looking for Angie to regain her reflexes. Tennis is a game of reflex shots and we are trying to speed up that area."
Deddy said that Angie's progress would be evaluated over the weekend but he refused to confirm if it would decide whether she could go to Germany.
"We leave it to Angie to decide. If she feels OK she goes, otherwise she should by no means force herself to play."
Angie, whose ranking has slumped to a low of 170, was circumspect about her chances of playing.
"It's still hurting me at times. I can't say as yet whether I'm ready for Germany. Let's see how my progress in two weeks."
Indonesia earned a berth against Germany by defeating Slovenia 4-1 in a playoff in Jakarta last July.
Although the Indonesian team's lineup has yet to be confirmed, Wynne Prakusya is likely to retain her position at second singles, with veteran Romana Tedjasukmana being called up for the first time since 2001.
"We have included Romana as a reserve player," Suzanna said. "We are very hopeful that Angie can go along with us."
Suzanna will accompany Wynne and 29-year-old Romana, who won two golds at the 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in her last outing for Indonesia, to Croatia on Thursday to take part in a satellite tournament, before heading to Germany.