Indonesia leads NZ 2-0 in Davis Cup
Indonesia leads NZ 2-0 in Davis Cup
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian tennis team pulled ahead leading 2-0 against
New Zealand in the Asia-Oceania Group I playoff in the Davis Cup,
which was interrupted by rain, here on Friday.
Febi Widhiyanto opened the host's campaign with a convincing
6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Matthew Prentice.
Prima Simpatiadji, the youngest team member, doubled
Indonesia's lead by upsetting Mark Nielsen 7-5, 6-7 (7/9), 6-1,
6-1 in a match that saw the home hopeful pound a string of aces
throughout.
Non-playing captain Tintus Arianto Wibowo was delighted by the
wins, but warned the players against excessive excitement, given
that their task was not yet ended with two days remaining in the
playoff.
The opposing teams will play a doubles match on Saturday
before reversing their singles on Sunday, and Tintus was adamant
about not taking anything for granted.
"We cannot afford to let up, as we do not want to fall victim
to a repeat of our experience against Japan," Tintus said.
Indonesia lost 3-2 to Japan in February, a defeat that
relegated it into a battle against New Zealand to retain a place
in the group.
Indonesia was close to winning against Japan at a 2-2 decisive
tie, but Prima, who had lost his first match, squandered a two-
set lead to surrender to Gouichi Motomura.
Prima won his first point for the home team on Friday.
"I am grateful that I have won a point for Indonesia. This is
my first win in the Davis Cup. It is very special," said the 22-
year-old at a press conference.
At the Bung Karno Tennis Open Stadium, Prima recovered from a
second set loss to take the remaining two sets in front of a
cheering crowd of home fans.
The second set was interrupted by rain for about 45 minutes as
the players entered the fourth game.
After losing the first set, Nielsen looked to have regained
his composure by then, extending the game to a tie-break that he
won 9-7.
Prima returned full force to dominate his opponent in the
remaining two sets, conceding only one game at each occasion.
Toward the end, the Indonesian landed three aces unchallenged and
served in the final game to victory.
New Zealand's non-playing captain Bruce Derlin praised Prima,
saying that he had played even better than Febi.
Derlin said his team would now concentrate on trying to take
the remaining matches.
The visiting team is most likely to field young doubles pair
Lee Radovanovich and William Ward as planned. They will be up
against Indonesian duo Suwandi and veteran Bonit Wiryawan on
Saturday.
Bonit, who has been included on the team replacing injured
Hendri Susilo Pramono, is twice the age of 18-year-old Ward.