Febi, Hendri hoped to lift RI's Davis Cup performance

Febi, Hendri hoped to lift RI's Davis Cup performance

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian tennis players Febi Widhiyanto and
Hendri Susilo Pramono are expected to help the country's Davis
Cup team reach Group I in its next tie against China Taipei in
October.

Coach Deddy Prasetyo said on Monday: "We aim to lift
Indonesia's position in group II to reach group I as we did in
the 1980s."

Taipei will likely be backboned by Liem Bing Chiao, formerly
Indonesian player Benny Wijaya, and Tsai Chia Yen.

Deddy said the Indonesian team would have problems facing
Chinese Taipei in the tie from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8 in Jakarta,
especially due to Liem's presence.

"It's really difficult to tame Benny (Liem), whose ATP ranking
is in the 800s, as he used to be our number one player. I hope
Febi and Hendri can learn valuable lessons on their European tour
next month," he said.

Febi, whose ATP ranking is 762, said: "Competing against
higher ranking players in the Bundesliga has given me an
opportunity to improve my performance, especially on clay
courts."

Febi and Hendri, who returned from competing in the BW
Schwetzingen club tournaments in southern Germany last week, won
five singles and four doubles titles during their competitions in
the Bundesliga. They returned to Indonesia to compete in the 15th
National Games (PON) in Surabaya next week.

Both players will return to Germany on July 3, before
competing in the US$10,000 Future tournaments in Santander and
Oviedo in Spain in early September. They will likely play in
similar tournaments in Italy before flying back to Jakarta a week
prior to the Davis Cup tie.

Indonesia reached the third round of the Davis Cup Group II
Zone Asia Oceania after beating the Philippines in the first tie
and Malaysia in the second.

Febi and Hendri's contract with German-based PT Asuransi
Allianz Utama Indonesia is to be extended through 2001.

"We aim to continue the plan for both Febi and Hendri to play
in the German tennis club next year," said president director of
the company Manfred Wittau. Allianz has been sponsoring the
Indonesians during their competition in the Bundesliga.

Deddy also said Febi and Hendri had been offered the chance of
joining a bigger club in the German league involving double
contract fees. (yan)