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)