Argentina douses Indonesia's fire in Fed Cup drama
Argentina douses Indonesia's fire in Fed Cup drama
JAKARTA (JP): To be or not to be. Yayuk Basuki displayed the best tennis of her career but it was not enough to give a struggling Indonesian team a most awaited victory over Argentina in their Federation Cup yesterday.
Yayuk proved she deserves distinction in the tennis world with a comfortable 7-5, 6-4 singles win over world number seven Gabriela Sabatini, but then slid to an upset 4-6, 7-6 (7-3), 3-6 loss in the deciding doubles rubber which earned Argentina an overall 3-2 win.
In the second reverse singles Florencia Labat made light work of Romana Tedjakusuma, winning 6-2, 6-3 to help Argentina level the tie at 2-2.
Playing at the boisterous Senayan indoor tennis stadium, the Argentinean doubles team of Sabatini and Patricia Tarabini fought tooth and nail to end the persistent challenge of Yayuk and Romana in a match that lasted more than two hours.
Rallies, ricocheting reflexes and booming strokes filled the match to the delight of the around 3,000 fans that packed the stadium. It was probably the best turn-out in Indonesian tennis history, with the crowd stuck to their chairs for seven hours to watch the three matches played yesterday.
It was such a heart-stopping game that the enthusiastic crowd could not prevent themselves from yelling during points. Umpire Leanne White had to continuously warn the unruly public.
"We are happy that we finally won. We played a very tough match in which both teams did their best," said a relieved Sabatini.
The Indonesian doubles team's agony quickly eclipsed Yayuk's stellar performance in the first reverse singles match, which confirmed Sabatini's erratic record. A slow moving Sabatini raced to a 5-3 lead in the first set before succumbing to the Indonesian's masterful approaches to the net.
Another thriller was on the stage when a nervy Yayuk belted two double faults to waste two match points in the eighth game of the second set. An uneasy Yayuk rushed to the net, only to lose the game.
Yayuk bounced back superbly, pounding exhausted Sabatini with her powerful forehand strokes and volley winners to win the match.
"I know I could have finished the match earlier. I lost then, but I felt I could make amends for the broken serve," said Yayuk, who now levels her win-loss record against Sabatini to 1-1.
Cliffhanger
In the decisive doubles match, the Argentineans, who survived a cliffhanger in the opening set which saw five broken serves, appeared to enjoy an easier second set when Romana dropped her first game of the set.
Performance-wise, Romana, whose easy defeat to Labat in yesterday's second reserve singles helped Argentina regain the ground, failed to match Yayuk's nearly flawless play.
Yayuk inspired her teammate to produce a brilliant comeback and hit every return to break Tarabini's serve for a 1-1 tie. Both teams saved their serves to push the set into a tiebreaker.
The Indonesians quickly raced to 6-2 in the tiebreak, before erring Sabatini netted a volley to set up an extra set. The crowd gave a spontaneous standing ovation for their home favorites.
The accolades proved too early as the host team dropped another game and was forced to trail throughout the deciding set. They briefly settled down by breaking Tarabini's serve in the seventh game, but then failed to stop the Argentineans' explosive run in the next two games.
"Argentina is beyond all doubts better than our team. That's why we lost," Indonesian coach Suharyadi said. "I think we need more players than just Yayuk and Romana to form a solid doubles team," Suharyadi added.
Indonesia will now meet the winning teams of the Asia Oceania zonal group matches in a playoff match in July to maintain its place in Group One. Argentina now qualifies for another playoff match against the losing teams at the World Group. (amd)