Eddy shows form to beat Suwandi for first time
JAKARTA (JP): Eddy Kusdaryanto shelved his long-time status as a mere bridesmaid of Suwandi when he upset the Indonesian number one tennis player 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4 yesterday on the opening day of a national selection tournament.
Eddy was making his first appearance after an eight-month lapse due to hepatitis A, but he proved his private practice under tutelage of Dedy Prasetyo made perfect.
"It's great that I finally ended my losing streak to Suwandi," said Eddy who recorded his first win in four meetings with Suwandi, his doubles partner.
Suwandi and Eddy were once Indonesia's best doubles team. They took the Asian Championships silver medal last year and served as Indonesia's backbone in the Davis Cup throughout the season.
Eddy said that he did not push himself to the limit during his workouts prior to the week-long Indonesia Tennis Association tournament at the Senayan clay courts. "The doctor says I have not yet recovered 100 percent from my illness," he said.
The 23-year-old player, in his quest to rejoin the country's elite team, made up for both his reach and height disadvantages by forcing a number of rallies that locked Suwandi to the baseline.
Eddy, whose agility in a Davis Cup doubles match against South Korea early this year drew massive applause from his home crowd, used all the experience of international duties in the past two years, to wear out Suwandi's patience.
The diminutive Eddy came to the net only when there was a chance, punishing anything wild, volleying precisely and producing a number of spectacular drop-shot winners.
Suwandi, who missed out representing the national team for six months in his quest to improve his ranking, could have clinched the victory after taking the second set. Last-gasp unforced errors, however, cost him the morale-boosting win.
"The defeat indicates something is wrong with Suwandi's preparations for this tournament," his coach Dedy said.
Suwandi would keep his hopes to rejoin the national team alive if he beats Samsudin Pare in today's group match. Eddy plays Jeffry Trihandriansyah, a 3-6, 1-6 loser to Samsudin yesterday.
The six-monthly tournament features 16 selected players of each sex. They are divided into four groups, with the top two players winning places in the national men's and women's teams.
Other favorites, Andrian Raturandang, Sebastian da Costa and Bonit Wiryawan, all got off to a fine start with straight-sets wins.
In the women's event, Mercu Buana champion Enny Sulistyowati displayed the day's most ruthless tennis when she blanked Audra Bernadette, a stand-in for Natalia Soetrisno who pulled out through injury, 6-0, 6-0.
The same scoreline was repeated when Fed Cup member Wynne Prakusya trounced the bottom-ranked Sediati Merdaningsih. (amd)