Dedy is players' first pick to coach Davis Cup squad
Dedy is players' first pick to coach Davis Cup squad
JAKARTA (JP): Players on the country's Davis Cup squad prefer
Dedy Prasetyo as their coach and nonplaying captain for the first
round Asia Oceania Group II match against the Philippines in
Manila in February.
Veteran Dede Suhendar Dinata said after practice on Monday
that Dedy was an expert trainer.
"Dedy always makes good training programs and we all recognize
that. I also think I can communicate with him better than other
coaches," said Dede, whose last experience on the Davis Cup team
was in 1991.
"His training method has greatly improved and I think he's the
best coach in Indonesia now."
Sebastian Da Costa, who is East Timorese, concurred.
"I don't think Indonesia has as good a coach as him. He has
great dedication and feeling of responsibility for the benefit of
the nation. Other coaches prefer to train their athletes but Dedy
doesn't differ between the players," he said.
"Even though I train with another coach, Dedy still makes
training programs for me."
Sebastian also said that Dedy should be appointed as coach and
captain of the squad.
"We can communicate well with Dedy. He often shouts at us
during training and sometimes in matches, but I think it doesn't
matter. We need a coach who can keep telling us what to do
because it's a team event."
Dedy is temporarily coaching Davis Cup team members Dede,
Sebastian, Febi Widhiyanto, Hendri Susilo Pramono, Suwandi and
Edy Kusdaryanto.
Four of the six athletes will join the core team.
The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) official in charge
of athletes and regional development, Sudjiono Timan, said he
would discuss the athletes' request with the official in charge
of the coaching committee, Atet Wiyono.
"We don't have any problems with the players' preference. But
we have to wait for Atet's response." He added that Pelti would
likely announce the name of the team's coach on Tuesday or
Wednesday.
Indonesia is scheduled to face the Philippines at the Rizal
Memorial Tennis Complex, with the victor to face the winner of
the tie between Iran and Malaysia in April.
Indonesia can be promoted to Group I if it can win the final
match against the winner of another section comprising top seed
Pakistan, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan in October.
Tennis observer and Pelti spokesman Benny Mailili previously
warned the team to be on alert for biased judging during the tie.
(yan)