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)