Host players fail in tennis quarterfinals

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)