Bonit and Sulistyo keep Indonesia's hope alive

Bonit and Sulistyo keep Indonesia's hope alive

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian old hands Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo
Wibowo kept the team's hopes alive after they managed to tame the
Uzbekistan duo of Oleg Ogorodov and Dmitriy Tomashevich 6-4, 3-6,
6-4, 6-2 in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania zone Group I match in
Kemayoran Tennis Center, Central Jakarta, on Saturday.

The victory left the host team trailing narrowly by 1-2.

Uzbekistan was leading 2-0 when its players won both singles
matches on Friday. Both countries fate will be decided in reverse
singles matches Sunday featuring Indonesian top player Suwandi
against Vadim Kutsenko and Andrian Raturandang against Ogorodov.

The victory was a sweet birthday gift for Bonit, who turned 33
on Saturday.

"I played very well today not because it's my birthday. But I
think we had enough preparation in a tournament in India last
month. It has helped boosted our motivation and we could play
without pressure.

"From the beginning, we predicted having an equal chance with
Uzbekistan. They have good groundstrokes and played from the
baseline most of the time. But I found out that they were always
late to respond to my shots to the midcourt, especially Ogorodov,
so I decided to be more aggressive," Bonit said in the post-match
conference.

Sulistyo said the victory was also proof that age could not
stop them from making good achievements.

"We have proved to everyone that we can still win although we
are getting old," said Sulistyo, who will turn 32 next Saturday.
He also hoped that he and Bonit could still play in the Davis Cup
and in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur in
September.

Tomashevich admitted his team's poor performance.

"We started partnering each other about five or six years ago
in the Davis Cup. We lost and won every time during our
partnership and we always played very well before today. We were
playing separately and didn't support each other properly. We
used to support each other but today is different.

"So we had a bad reaction, and performed poorly. Anyway, the
Indonesia team played very well," he said after the match.

Service points

Bonit and Sulistyo earned more points from their service than
Ogorodov and Tomashevich although the visitors were more
powerful.

Being defeated in the first set, Uzbekistan took an early lead
in the second but Indonesia managed to make it one-all after two
deuces.

But Uzbekistan broke Bonit's service and benefited from the
Indonesians' unforced errors to lead 4-2. Bonit and Sulistyo only
managed to win one game before the set was won by Uzbekistan.

In the third set, Bonit and Sulistyo began to figure out that
Ogorodov was ineffective and targeted the 193 centimeter-tall
player. Ogorodov also looked upset over his own form and took
time frequently to discuss the play with Tomashevich.

The Uzbekistans reached 4-5 but they failed to earn any points
in the decider game to give a 4-6 win to Indonesia.

In the do-or-die set, Uzbekistan made Indonesia slow down and
win two games. Tomashevich made it 40-30 in the third game but
Ogorodov failed to cross the ball and was forced for a deuce.

Both Sulistyo and Ogorodov failed to win from advantages and
produced the second deuce. But Ogorodov's backhand was too short
to reach his opponent's court and Indonesian earned the
advantage. Sulistyo also failed to end the game and received the
third deuce. At last the Uzbekistan failed to return Sulistyo's
volley and the Indonesian team extended its lead to 5-2.

Tomashevich made a double fault and both teams tied 30-30 in
the decider. But Ogorodov's return was too slow and only reached
the net and to give Indonesia a 40-30 lead. Sulistyo sealed the
victory with a forehand that fell far away to the baseline.

In Beijing, India led 2-1 over China after the top doubles
team of Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathy beat Yang Jingzhu and Xu
Ran in a straight set 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in another Group I tie
Saturday.

India took an early lead on Friday after Paes outclassed Yu
Wang 4-6, 6-0, 6-0, 6-4 but compatriot Fazaluddin Syed conceded
to Yu Zhang 6-4, 6-1, 6-0, AFP reported.

In Seoul, New Zealand gained a 2-1 lead over South Korea in a
doubles match here.

New Zealand doubles James Greenhalgh teamed up with Alistair
Hunt to beat South Korea's Lee Hyung-taik and Baek Seung-bok 5-7,
7-5, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 on the Olympic Park indoor court.

To return home victorious, New Zealand must win one of the two
reverse singles matches set for Sunday, according to AP. (ivy)