Diana continues to oust seeds in Cigna Open
Diana continues to oust seeds in Cigna Open
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Giant-killer Diana Julianto continued her winning form by
beating Mudarwati at the Rp 60 million (US$5,890) Cigna Open on
Thursday, as threats of rain disrupting the tournament prompted
organizers to turn to Kemayoran Indoors as a contingency measure.
Diana edged out fifth-seed Mudarwati 6-1, 6-3 at the Hilton
Executive Club Hardcourts in Central Jakarta. She upset top-
seeded Wukirasih Sawondari the day before.
She is now seeking another bug scalp in the semifinal tie
against eighth-seed Septi Mende, a 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 winner
over Sandy Gumulya.
The other semifinal tie pits second-seed Liza Andriani and
third Eny Sulistiowati. Liza survived a stern test early to
overcome Suci Bungaran 7-5, 6-2, while Eny defeated Mima
Chernovita 6-2, 6-3.
Reigning champion Febi Widhiyanto is tipped for a clash in the
men's singles final against top seed Suwandi. The two reached the
quarterfinals, Febi defeating Andrian Raturandang 6-4, 6-1, and
Suwandi routing Eko Kurniawan 6-3, 6-0.
The matches started about five hours late due to the rain that
had poured down since early in the day.
Rain has persistently interrupted the tournament since
Tuesday, which resulted in the rescheduling of some of the
fixtures. The tournament was scheduled to finish on Sunday.
"We are, at the moment, using all eight courts here. If it
weren't for the rain, the remaining matches would have needed
only six," Ginung Pratidina, an adviser to the organizing
committee, told The Jakarta Post.
"Doubles finals were to have been completed on Friday. But it
now appears that they would probably be played on Saturday," he
added.
In case of persistent rain, he said, they had already looked
to the Kemayoran Indoors, about 15 kilometers northeast from the
site, as alternatives.
"We may use four of the ten courts there with the finals in
all categories being played on Sunday," Ginung said.
Play was called to start over midday on Thursday. Diana,
number 23 in the national rankings, took the initiative early in
the game by breaking Mudarwati's serve.
She held on to lead throughout, conceding only one game in her
6-1 drubbing. She was lagging behind in the opening games of the
second set, but managed to recover for a 6-3 win.
Diana, an 18-year-old from Bandung, West Java, was coy about
recalling how she had passed the tests over the seeds.
"I was simply playing; I felt at ease," she said. "Mudarwati
might be playing under her form."