Defending champ Sunu faces Ocvirk challenges

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Young Indonesian tennis star Sunu Wahyu Trijati is only one step away from successfully defending his title in the 2004 Salonpas International Junior Tennis Championships, after he defeated compatriot Elbert Sie 7-5, 6-3 in their semifinal match at the Kemayoran Tennis Center on Friday.

Sunu, the fifth seed the tournament, has second seed Luka Ocvirk, of Slovenia, to tackle in Saturday's final.

Ocvirk beat seventh seed Takanobu Fujii of Japan 7-6 (7/2), 1- 6, 6-2, to secure his place.

It was a tight semifinal encounter between Sunu and Elbert, particularly in the first set. Neither players lost service until in the eleventh game in which Sunu managed to break Elbert before holding onto his own to win 7-5.

The second set was more favorable to Sunu, as he immediately took a convincing 3-1 lead. Elbert tried hard, closing the gap to a game at 4-3, but Sunu didn't let him get any further than that.

However, it was not an easy run for the defending champion as Elbert stayed resilient until the end, when it seemed poor concentration cost him the match.

In the ninth game, at 30-30, Elbert made double fault, giving Sunu a match point. A crossed backhand volley in front of the net ended Elbert's run at 6-3.

Looking ahead to his Ocvirk match, Sunu said his opponent would be tough, particularly as the Slovenian had a 17cm height advantage -- at 185cm tall to Sunu's 168cm.

"However, I will play a tactical game early on against Ocvirk and see if it works," Sunu told The Jakarta Post.

Both being baseline players, the match would likely be a battle of long drives, Sunu said.

"I'll do my best to win the match tomorrow," he said, adding that the Saturday meeting would be their first.

A match between hot contenders will also decide the winner in the girls' singles, with top seed Hsu Wen-Hsin of Taiwan to meet second seed Pichitra Tongdach of Thailand.

Hsu outplayed fourth seed Nicole Thijssen of the Netherlands 6-2, 6-0 in the semifinals, while Tongdach overwhelmed third seed Tatjana Malek of Germany 7-5, 6-4.