Benny and Yayuk fall in Asian Games tennis semis
Benny and Yayuk fall in Asian Games tennis semis
HIROSHIMA, Japan (Agencies): Asian Games tennis downfall continued smashing Indonesian camp yesterday as both its top players Yayuk Basuki and Benny Wijaya were dumped out of the singles semifinals.
Women's singles third-seeded Yayuk ended her run at the Asian Games as she had planned when she lost to Japan's top seeded and hot favorite Kimiko Date 0-6, 7-5, 0-6, and gave way to an all- Japanese final. Yayuk, ranked 27th in the world, was in the losing Indonesian team against Japan in the women's team final on Monday.
World number 10 Date plays compatriot Naoko Sawamatsu, a 6-1, 6-3 winner over China's Chen Li, in the final today. In the absence of Date, world number 25 Sawamatsu spearheaded the Japanese squad strolled to a gold medal.
Earlier yesterday, Benny, who led a beaten men's team against top seeded India on Tuesday, gave up easily to second ranked Pan Bing of China 3-6, 3-6.
The defeats confirmed that both Yayuk and Benny will leave the Games with bronze medals.
India, however, was the most upset side yesterday when its Davis Cup hero Leander Paes crashed out of the men's singles in a shock lost 7-6, 4-6, 5-7 to sixth-seeded South Korean Yoon Yong- il after a fierce struggle lasting two hours and 35 minutes on the wind-swept center court.
Paes denied the pressure of playing a singles and doubles match for the last three days had told in the end.
"I was not tired, I just lost my touch," he said. " Gaurav (Natekar) took the pressure off me in the doubles, so there were no worries there.
"But you are on your own in the singles. You've got to do your own thing. I just faded away."
Paes, who conceded just four games in two previous singles matches, lost his touch against the steady Korean.
His trademark lobs and crosscourt returns were often just out as Yoon kept the Indian serve and volley specialist on the baseline for the entire match.
Both players broke each serve once in the first set to take it into a tie-breaker which Paes won 7-2.
Hit back
But Yoon hit back by breaking Paes in the opening game of the second set and held his own for the remainder of the set to edge ahead 6-4.
A 50-minute interruption due to rain at the start of the third set gave Paes a chance to get himself together but his touch never returned.
He double faulted in the 11th game of the third set to trail 5-6, and a determined Yoon served out the match after saving five break points.
The 21-year-old Paes, who led India to the men's team title last week, retained hopes of winning his second gold medal with Davis Cup doubles partner Gaurav Natekar.
They formed a solid partnership to dump out Indonesia's Donny Susetyo and Teddy Tanjung Paes-G.Natekar 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 in the doubles semifinals. The top-seeded Indian pair now meet South Korea's Chang Eui-jong and Kim Chi-wan who overcame toppled Pan Bing and Xia Jiaping of China 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-8).
In the women's doubles final, number one seeds Kyoko Nagatsuka and Ai Sugiyama of Japan will meet Chen Li and Li Fang.
Nagatsuka and Sugiyama beat South Korea's Park Sung-hae and Choi Ju-Yeon while Li and Chen downed another Japanese pair, Mana Endo and Nana Miyagi, in the other semi-final.