Host players fail in tennis quarterfinals

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian tennis players had a disappointing day on the courts, as not one singles player managed to advance to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Men's Future F6 and the Indonesia Women's Circuit 3 at the Danamon tennis complex in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Friday.

Although he put up a valiant fight, Febi Widhiyanto failed to reach the semifinals of the Future tournament, bowing out to top seeded Satoshi Iwabuchi of Japan 2-6, 6-7 (6-8) in the quarterfinals. Iwabuchi will next face compatriot Hideki Kaneko, who beat Frantisek Babej of Slovakia 6-1, 2-6, 6-4.

Febi's teammate Yusmawan Fahmi also failed to secure a spot in the semifinals, losing to second seeded Jan Hermansson of Sweden 0-6, 5-7. Hermansson will now face fourth seeded Danai Udomchoke of Thailand, who defeated Japan's Ryuso Tsujino 6-1, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

In the men's doubles, Indonesia's sole hope was the fourth seeded veteran partnership of Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo. However, the experienced duo failed to overcome second seeded Ashley Fisher of Australia and Minh Le of the United States, losing 5-7, 6-3, 2-6.

In the semifinals, Fisher and Le will face the top seeded duo of Thomas Shimada of Japan and Myles Wakefield of South Africa, who eliminated Aisam Qureshi of Pakistan and Hiroyasu Sato of Japan 6-2, 6-4.

On the women's circuit, Indonesia's Irawati Moerid Iskandar and Mimma Chernovita also fell short of the semifinals. Irawati could not overcome Rushmi Chakravarthi of India, falling 4-6, 6- 1, 6-7 (2-7), while Mimma lost to second seeded Jayaramsai Jayalakshmy of India 0-6, 2-6.

However, Indonesia's doubles team of Dea Sumantri and Mudarwati defeated Indonesia's veteran pairing of Eny Sulistyowati and Frederika Girsang 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 to advance to the semifinals. They will now meet Satomi Kinjo of Japan and Nina Jancekovic of Slovenia, who defeated Veronika Ctvrtnickova of the Czech Republic and Lucia Tallo of Switzerland 7-5, 4-6, 7-5.

Indonesia's pairing of Irawati and Wukirasih Sawondari had a walkover in the quarterfinals, with their scheduled opponents Wang I-Ting of China Taipei and Orawan Wongkamalasai of Thailand failing to appear. In the semifinals, they will face Indonesian Liza Andriyani and her Australian partner Nathalie Ko, who upset second seeded Chakravarthi and Jayalakshmy of India 6-1, 6-4.

Separately, the Malaysian development officer of the Asian Tennis Federation, Suresh Menon, criticized Indonesian tennis coaches on Friday, accusing them of failing to embrace new coaching techniques.

"Coaches must use a systematic approach in coaching. Modern countries like Spain and Sweden have high standards of coaching because their certification programs are very professional. They take the job seriously. Coaches here must be more serious in implementing coaching systems," Menon said after completing a 12- day International Tennis Federation level-one coaching clinic for 25 local coaches at the Senayan tennis complex.

"If you used to be a good player, that doesn't mean you'll be a good coach. That's the common assumption here. To be a good coach requires a person who is open and more flexible to new ideas, and he must have good motivation," he said.

Menon said he had spent three years in Indonesia observing the development of tennis in the country.

"Tennis is one of the traditional sports here. Indonesian tennis players used to have equal skills with other Asian countries, including Thailand. But now the performance of the Indonesians has dropped while other countries are improving due to their higher level of coaching, development programs and tournaments," he said.

Indonesia has talented players but only few receive proper training and have the opportunity to participate in domestic and international tournaments, Menon said.

"If Indonesia wants to have a stock of good players, the tennis association should introduce tennis in schools. If this country wants one world-class player, it must start with 10,000 players," he said. (ivy/yan)