Diana's withdrawal does 'not affect Fed Cup team'

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Fed Cup team, dealt a blow following the late withdrawal of Diana Julianto, has been tipped to go ahead with the women's world tennis team competition.

Diana's withdrawal, which was officially announced on Sunday, has now left the Indonesian women's team with three players, which prompted team manager Martina Widjaja to ponder whether or not to join the tournament.

However, Benny Mailili, a tennis columnist, viewed the issue differently and said there was no reason for Indonesia to retreat.

"Three players is the normal number in a squad. Even if there are only two players we can still compete," Benny told The Jakarta Post and Media Indonesia here on Monday.

The remaining players are Wynne Prakusya, Angelique Widjaja and Wukirasih Sawondari. The former two are currently on an overseas tour.

"Diana was to have played second fiddle to our key singles players. Therefore, it is no problem that she has quit the team.

"Things would be different if it were Wynne or Angie missing out because our strength lies in both players," said Benny, who is also the spokesman of the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti).

Diana, who had been given a place in the team at the expense of her senior Liza Andriyani, notified her withdrawal to Pelti in a letter last Saturday. It was disclosed to the media the following day.

The letter, signed by Diana's father Hendra Julianto, cited Liza's disappointment as the reason behind her decision, and was printed in a leading local newspaper.

Liza met Diana in the Cigna Open final on Sunday and won 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2.

The upcoming ten-nation Fed Cup's Asia-Oceania Group One matches will be held from March 4 to March 10 in Guangzhou, China.

The participant teams, which will be split into two groups, are China, Chinese Taipei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand and Uzbekistan.

The group leaders will meet in the final with the winner being awarded a passage to the world's qualifying stage.

Indonesia, spearheaded by now-retired star Yayuk Basuki, won the 2001 Group One stage but fell short of moving further, after losing to Austria in the World Group qualifying match.