Ayu dreams of following in Yayuk's famous footsteps
Ayu dreams of following in Yayuk's famous footsteps
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Tipped as the possible successor to former world top 20 ranked Yayuk Basuki and current national number one Angelique "Angie" Widjaja, teenager Ayu Fani Damayanti has big dreams of emulating their success.
Already a member of the Fed Cup team (she played singles in Indonesia's loss to Germany in April), the 16 year old is one of the nation's top players, ranking second behind the injured Angie.
The Balinese, whose full name is I Gusti Ngurah Ayu Kade Dwi Fani Damayanti, won the Hemaviton Challenge 2005 on Sunday without losing a set.
She also triumphed at the Cigna Open in February and a US$10,000 satellite tournament in Jakarta in early May.
"Yayuk and Angie are my idols. I want to be like Kak (big sister) Yayuk who reached the world top 20, but I still have a long way to go," said Ayu.
She added that Yayuk often gave her tips to improve her game, and she respected her because she remained modest despite her achievements.
Currently ranked 538th in the world, Ayu has a solid baseline game but needs to work on her serve and footwork, problem areas she also acknowledges.
"I still don't know why my serve is weak in competition, not like when I practice," said Ayu, who is plays in the Detec club under coach Deddy Prasetyo.
She also needs to participate in more international tournaments to improve her matchplay.
"She is quite a talented player, with good hands, and her game is getting better and better," said Yayuk, who watched Ayu during the tournament last week.
"But she could be an even better player -- there are a few things she needs to work on, like the variety of her game and her serve."
Yayuk, who stands 1.64 meters, said Ayu's short stature at 1.62 m among the titans of women's tennis today would not be a problem if she improved her conditioning to ensure excellent court coverage. "She's slimmer than she was but she could still drop a couple of kilograms."
Ayu was selected by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) for the team to play in a five-week tour of Europe in June and July last year.
ITF Team coach Frank Zlesak said on the ITF website www.itftennis.com that the team's results had been very good and it was encouraging to see the excellent results of the players, including Ayu.
Ayu started playing tennis at the age of five in Bali, where her father, Komang Ngurah Wijaya, owns a club for children.
She improved quickly, and by the age of seven finished third in the national junior tournament for her age group in Bali.
"From then on, I was highly motivated to play tennis," she said.
In 2002, she moved to Surabaya to be coached by Patricia Boediono until the end of 2004, when she joined Detec.
"Tennis has become my life, providing its ups and downs."
She admitted that she sometimes tired of the routine of practicing and playing, but realized there was no other way to reach the top of the game.
"However, I could still watch movies when I go overseas to play in a tournament, and buy DVDs for my collection," she said, adding that her favorite movie is Jeepers Creepers.
"Another hobby I love is chatting if I am bored during the weekend."
She has another dream, very different from her daily life of hitting balls on the tennis court.
"I want to be a lawyer someday," she said. "But I don't know how to realize it if I concentrate on playing tennis."