Belgium plumps for Appelmans and van Roost
Belgium plumps for Appelmans and van Roost
JAKARTA (JP): The Belgium Fed Cup team, in a surprise move
yesterday, picked Dominique van Roost as the second singles
instead of Laurence Courtois in its match against host Indonesia
on Saturday.
Van Roost will also team up with Sabine Appelmans, who was
drawn to play as the first singles, instead of regular pairing of
Courtois and Nancy Feber.
"Dominique is an exceptional player on hard court. I'm sorry,
but that's all I can say on why I picked her," said the Belgium
non-playing captain Steven Martens.
Speaking about his doubles team, Martens said that his
decision was taken in accordance with the condition of his
players.
"I think the other pair (Courtois and Feber) are not 100
percent fit for the match," Martens said.
Host Indonesia, on the other hand, did not pull any surprises
when it announced that the country's tennis queen, Yayuk Basuki,
together with Romana Tedjakusuma, will be the heroines to defend
the country in the match.
Indonesian non-playing captain Suharyadi said that the Belgium
decision had been anticipated, and that there will be no problem
in determining who will be Romana's opponent in the second
singles.
The draw, which was witnessed by chairman of the Indonesia
Tennis Association Sarwono Kusumaatmadja and Belgian Ambassador
Marc van Rysselderghe, placed Yayuk to oppose van Roost in the
first singles match, and Appelmans to play Romana in the second
singles.
"The chances for winning are 75-25 for Yayuk, and 60-40 for
Appelmans," Martens said.
"Dominique will be a big star if she can upset Yayuk, then
Appelmans can play more relaxed," he added.
Both teams hope to steal points from one another. Indonesia
will rely on Yayuk, while Belgium expects Appelmans to beat
Romana.
Yayuk said that being the first single did not create any
burdens for her.
"We are representing Indonesia, and this is the best team we
have now," she said.
Yayuk, who has never met van Roost before, said that she is a
total baseliner.
"Her strokes are very accurate. She's more offensive than
Courtois and she tends to get in as many winning points as she
can," she said.
Van Roost declined to comment on her chances against Yayuk,
because she has "never played against her before".
Suharyadi, Yayuk's coach and husband, said that placing Romana
in the second singles is the best decision he could have made.
"Romana is rapidly improving in terms of her physical
condition. She'll be able to deal with mental pressure better
than the two juniors," he said.
Juniors Liza Andriyani and Wynne Prakusya have been prepared
for the big match. It seemed that Suharyadi did not want to take
a risk by placing one of them as the second singles.
Romana, who never played either Appelmans or van Roost, said
that she felt better compared to her first day here.
"I just hope that on Saturday and Sunday, I can play my best,"
said Romana, who has previously joined the country's Fed Cup team
four times.
"I think Sabine is a very good player. Her groundstrokes are
very consistent. I'll try my best to upset her," she commented on
her opponent.
Both teams seemed to rely on whether or not they were
victorious in singles before deciding on the doubles match. The
decision of the doubles is not yet fixed 100 percent.
"I'll see the results of the singles matches first," Martens
said, "If Sabine plays well, she can play in doubles."
"Our doubles can still be changed," Suharyadi said.
Romana, who just arrived here early this weekend from her
college in Louisiana, said that she would not have any problems
in the second day when she would be playing singles and doubles.
"I think I'm accustomed to it. I did exactly the same thing
last year," she said. (05)