Belgium to clash with RI in Fed Cup

JAKARTA (JP): The Belgium tennis team is ready to face host Indonesia in the Fed Cup championships on April 27 and 28.

Belgium's No. 1 player, Sabine Appelmans, told reporters on Monday night before the welcome reception for participants of the Danamon Indonesia Women's Open championship that she and her compatriots have prepared themselves well for the Fed Cup match.

"My ranking is better than Yayuk Basuki (Indonesia's No. 1) and the No. 2 player from Belgium (Laurence Courtois) is also better than Romana Tedjakusuma (ranked No. 2 in Indonesia), but the people here are behind the Indonesian team, so I think it's going to be great," she said.

The Belgium team will consist of Appelmans, Laurence Courtois, Dominique Monami and Nancy Feber. Of these four, only Monami missed the Indonesia Women's Open, and will join the team a week before the Fed Cup championships begin.

"We still have two tournaments before the Fed Cup, so I try not to think too much about it. For sure, it's going to be difficult, and I don't know how I'm going to play. It's too early to speculate now," commented Appelmans about her team's chances of beating Indonesia.

Steven Martens, coach of the Belgium team, said that he would take Courtois and Feber to compete in the Japan Open after the match here as a preparation for the Fed Cup.

"I skipped the Lipton tournament two weeks ago, because I'm going to stay here for one month. It's better for me to be here to prepare," said Appelmans, the world No. 21 ranked player.

Appelmans said that Yayuk is a very tough player and she will be difficult to beat.

"Yayuk has a very good serve and an aggressive game. She is a master in serve and volley games. I know she always plays well in Indonesia. She beat Sabatini here and other good players as well."

The Fed Cup match will be played on the center rebound ace court of the Senayan tennis stadium. Appelmans said she favors playing on a hard-surface court.

"I am happy when playing on a hard court. I've practiced on it for four weeks at home and came here last week. I think I'm ready for it," she said.

Earlier, Yayuk expressed the hope Indonesia will win the match against Belgium.

"We don't want to be relegated. So we have to win the match," she said.

The Indonesian team will still count on Yayuk Basuki and Romana Tedjakusuma. Unfortunately, Romana will only be able to arrive here a week before the event.

The Indonesian Tennis Association plans to observe Romana's physical condition before deciding to field her in the match.

The Fed Cup match will be a tough challenge for the Indonesian tennis world after its loss of the Davis Cup matches to South Korea in February and China last week. Indonesia's Fed Cup team does not have any option but to win the match, or be bumped out of the world group. (05)