Fourth time lucky for Yayuk at Wimbledon?

By Russel Barlow

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's Yayuk Basuki will make her fourth attempt tomorrow to serve up a little piece of history for herself at Wimbledon, the oldest and most revered tennis tournament in the world.

Yayuk, who has compiled a remarkable record by reaching Wimbledon's fourth round in four consecutive years, will become the first Asian woman ever to reach Wimbledon's quarterfinals if she advances. Yayuk and Naoko Sawamatsu of Japan are the only Asian women in Wimbledon history to reach the fourth round of the tournament.

Standing in her way is the towering Brenda Schultz-McCarthy. The 15th seed, who is 6' 2" (1.88 meters), has the hardest serve on the women's tour at 109 miles per hour. Schultz-McCarthy has improved her mobility in the last year after losing 7 kilograms and her ranking has risen to as high as 13 from the mid-30s last year with her improved speed.

Schultz-McCarthy will be looking to celebrate her recent marriage by becoming the first Dutch woman since Betty Stove in 1977 to advance past the fourth round.

Top players

Yayuk, whether she wins or loses tomorrow, has already proven beyond doubt that she is one of the world's best grass court players.

Her performances at both Wimbledon and Eastbourne, the traditional warm-up tournament for Wimbledon, have been exceptional. The Yogyakarta native's tally of victims on grass courts includes many of the world's best players, among them Anke Huber, Helena Sukova and the hapless Magdalena Maleeva, who succumbed to Yayuk's elegant game in both 1993 and 1994.

At Eastbourne last week, Yayuk notched a new and impressive scalp by defeating Zina Garrison-Jackson. The American veteran is retiring this year but remains one of the best tacticians and volleyers on grass. Ironically, Yayuk then lost to German Christina Singer, who had also defeated Schultz-McCarthy in the previous round.

An important confidence booster for Yayuk going into her clash with Schultz-McCarthy is her win over Nathalie Tauziat of France in the third round.

Tauziat had caused the biggest upset in the women's draw by unseating reigning Australia Open champion Mary Pierce. Tauziat, a former top twenty player whose ranking slid in the past year, had enjoyed a purple patch in the last two weeks on grass by winning Eastbourne.

Game plan

Yayuk can defeat Schultz-McCarthy if she is aggressive throughout the match and picks her opportunities to attack.

Yayuk's backhand slice is extremely difficult to return on fast grass and her service, with the shortest and quickest motion of all women players except Conchita Martinez, is difficult for opponents to judge.

Her lauded forehand is great for pouncing on the ball and hitting winners but can often go astray. It is Yayuk's backhand, a classic sliced shot in the tradition of Australian Evonne Goolagong Cawley and German Bettina Bunge, the most naturally gifted player I have ever seen, which is her main weapon on grass.

Yayuk should slice to the corners to keep the tall Dutchwoman on the run and come in to the net off short balls. The pressure will be on Schultz-McCarthy to hit passing shots, and her groundstrokes are the weakest component of her game.

The key to an Indonesian victory will be aggression through advancing to the net to put away volleys. Yayuk is one of the few women players who has an instinctive feel for volleying, according to Russell Barlow, ATP Tour Consultant for the ATP Tour World Doubles Championship in Jakarta this November.

"Yayuk's technique is sometimes a little off, but she compensates because she is so athletic and has immense natural talent," Barlow says.

Yayuk must also rein in her tendency to try for too much in rallies and instead wait for the ideal opportunity. Her errors can swell into a tidal wave as she becomes frustrated and she should draw on the patience she displayed in beating Gabriela Sabatini at the Fed Cup in Jakarta in May.

An interesting aspect of the match is that Yayuk and Schultz- McCarthy are the last married women in the draw. Yayuk may well see her photograph captioned "The Merriest Wife at Wimbledon" if she can play to form against Schultz-McCarthy.

Russel Barlow is the ATP Tour World Doubles Championship Consultant.