Indonesia gives a point to Lebanon
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya
Lebanon managed to avoid a whitewash defeat from Indonesia in their Davis Cup tie after Patrick Chucri beat Febi Widhiyanto 6- 2, 7-6 (7-5) in their second match in Surabaya on Sunday.
Earlier Suwandi pounded seven aces to overpower inexperienced Fadi Youssef 6-0, 6-0 to put Indonesia in a 4-0 lead in Group One of the Asia-Oceania zone, before Chucri rewarded his team a consolation win.
The 4-1 win made it 1-1 against Lebanon. The team lost in its visit to Beirut in 1998, which condemned Indonesia into Group Two.
The win also earned the players a Rp 50 million (US$5,000) cash from East Java Governor Imam Utomo. A total of Rp 10 million from the ticket sales went to W.R. Supratman Institution, a social foundation named after the late Indonesian composer who composed the Indonesia Raya national anthem.
Back to the court, although it did not count anymore, Chucri displayed an entertaining tennis performance with his accurate and powerful shots from the back. He could also withstand the searing heat on the Sawo Embong Hardcourts.
At the other end, accuracy deserved Febi, compounded with his inability to fight back at the right moment. Febi, along with Bonit Wiryawan, was the survivor of the 1998 Indonesian team.
"I learnt from his match with Ali (Hamadeh) on the opening day. Febi had a good passing shot. Today I tried to play at the back to counter his shots, and he somehow fell into the ploy," Chucri said during a press conference.
His captain Raymond Kattoura said he was relieved that they could take a point in the tie.is getting better and better. And I guess this is good for our preparation ahead of our next match," he said.
Lebanon will face the loser from the Uzbekistan-South Korea match in Tashkent.
Chucri broke Febi at the start and made two aces in the third for a 3-0 lead. Febi broke back but the 21-year-old Lebanese almost promptly responded with another break to close out the first set.
The second set appeared tougher which forced the set to extend to tiebreaks. Febi was the first side falling behind against the blistering shots from Chukri, before the former steadied his paces.
But Febi, although he was once two points up, could not hold on during the tiebreaks, going down 5-7.
Febi admitted to being upset by the defeat. "I had expected to win. But, as you saw from my first match, I looked to make a slow start. Unluckily today, I failed to accelerate my game.
"I fell entrapped by his play," he said.
Indonesian captain Tintus Arianto Wibowo said: "We had hoped to take all the matches. But Febi could not wrap it up the second time. I does not mean he was under from. It was just his opponent fared better today."
In the first match on the day, Suwandi needed only half an hour to brush aside 24-year-old Fadi Youssef.
The Indonesian number one player, who is 292 on the world rankings, produced a love game twice in the opening set and three times in the second. He also allowed just as many as 13 points during the whole play.