Indonesia names junior players for Fed Cup

Indonesia names junior players for Fed Cup

JAKARTA (JP): Junior players Liza Andriyani and Wynne Prakusya
won places on the Indonesian tennis squad for the Federation Cup
Group One first-round match against Belgium here in two weeks.

Liza beat former Fed Cup player Enny Sulistyowati 3-6, 6-4, 7-
5 to finish unbeaten after three national selection matches
yesterday. Wynne came second after beating Enny and losing to
Liza.

The Indonesian Tennis Association called up four teenage
players to fill the lineup for the Belgian challenge, but Agustin
Limanto failed to turn up for the selection matches due to an
injury.

Debutantes Liza and Wynne completed the national team's
roster. Yayuk Basuki and Romana Tedjakusuma will likely be named
the first choices for the matches on April 27 and 28 at the
Senayan tennis stadium.

The winner of the first-round will be promoted to the World
Group playoff, slated for July 8 and July 9.

Non-playing captain Suharyadi said yesterday that Romana had
confirmed she will join the national team, her sixth championship
cap since 1991. Romana is expected to arrive here on April 23.

"The odds look against us despite our home-court advantage,"
Suharyadi said. "With Yayuk serving as our sole trump card, our
chance is 40-60 against Belgium."

Belgium will play world-ranked Sabine Appelmans, Laurence
Courtois, Dominique van Roost and Nancy Feber. All of who, except
van Roost, are now playing in the Danamon Indonesia Open. The
Open ends tomorrow.

Liza, Wynne and Enny also played in the Indonesia Open, but
were defeated early in the tournament. They had played four
outings before playing here.

"They failed to live up to my expectations," Suharyadi said.
Yayuk also lost in the early rounds of her American tour over the
past three weeks.

Suharyadi said that Yayuk, the backbone of Indonesia's Fed Cup
team since 1985, is expected to win her two singles matches. She
will also play doubles, but Suharyadi has yet to decide on her
partner.

"Let's see who's going to team up with Yayuk during the
training session which starts just after the Danamon Open," she
said.

While Indonesian players tune-up for the Fed Cup at home, the
Belgians move to the Japan Open.

Suharyadi dismissed any possibility her squad would tour.

"They are already exhausted after a number of outings," she
said.

After beating Kyoko Nagatsuka 6-4, 6-3 in the Indonesia Open
quarterfinals yesterday, Courtois said her victory boosted her
confidence for the Fed Cup duel.

"We learned a lot from the tournament here, and I hope to play
well in the Fed Cup," she said.

Appelmans, who will lead Belgium's team in their next
Indonesian tour, played down her side's odds against the host.

"It's going to be a lot of fun, I think, and it's not going to
be easy to beat Indonesia," she said.

"It's still two weeks away. I will play a tournament in Tokyo
and I have to concentrate on those matches. The more I think
about the Fed Cup, the more I think that I shouldn't think about
it too much," she concluded. (05/amd)