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."