Davenport set to play in Bali event
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
The Wismilak International tennis tournament in Bali has attracted the biggest gun in women's tennis, world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, to play in Bali in September.
"We are very happy to announce that Lindsay will play in Bali. We had talks with her a couple of days ago and she said she was anxious to come," tournament director Kevin Livesey said on Thursday.
The big-serving, powerful hitting groundstroker from California has amassed 47 singles crowns and 35 doubles titles. She has won all the Grand Slams with the exception of Roland Garros, and lost a marathon Wimbledon final in July to Venus Williams after holding matchpoint.
Davenport and world number four and defending champion Svetlana Kuznetsova are the two top 10 players confirmed for the US$225,000 Bali tournament which will run from Sept. 11 to Sept. 18.
Other high-ranked players are number 11 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland, whose left-handed game always presents a threat; No. 13 Alicia Molik of Australia, who is recovering from an inner ear infection; and No. 19 Jelena Jankovic of Serbia-Montenegro.
"I'm delighted to announce that we have a strong field in the tournament in Bali. The reputation of the tournament as one that offers fierce competition in a relaxing environment is a tribute to all those who make Wismilak International such a popular event with both players and spectators," Livesey said.
The emerging group of young Asian players is represented by India's Sania Mirza, whose impressive performances in U.S. Open tuneups this month will likely bring her ranking from the current 59 into the top 50 next week, and No. 61 Akiko Morigami.
Indonesia's Angelique "Angie" Widjaja, who is still recovering from knee surgery last November, has been included in the main draw thanks to a wild card.
Angie, who won the tournament in 2002 but whose ranking has dropped from the low 70s to 219, will receive one of the two wildcards on offer.
"Angie is Indonesia's great player. Unfortunately she has been injured lately. She is not playing in the U.S. Open but she hopes that she will be fit to play in Bali," Livesey said.
He added that the other wildcard recipient would be known about one week before the tournament.
However, Livesey said other local players would not be able to gain the wildcard facility because their rankings were too low.
Indonesia's highest-ranked player after Angie is Wynne Prakusya (391), followed by Ayu Fani Damayanti (471), Romana Tedjakusuma (487) and Sandy Gumulya (566).
They will have to play through qualifying for a spot in the main draw, which Livesey said would be more worthwhile for their careers because there would also be many players ranked in the top 100.
"They (Indonesian players) will have better chance of winning in qualifying and get points rather they get entry in the main draw but are beaten straightaway," Livesey said.