Indonesia, New Zealand vie for Davis Cup victory
Indonesia, New Zealand vie for Davis Cup victory
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia and New Zealand are confident of
winning today's opening singles of the Asia Oceania Group I Davis
Cup tie second round at the Senayan tennis courts.
"Hopefully we can win 2-0 but at least we'll have a 1-1 draw
tomorrow," said Indonesia's team manager Atet Wijono.
In yesterday's draw, led by referee Bill Gilmour, Suwandi will
play the first singles against Mark Nielsen and Andrian
Raturandang will play Alistair C. Hunt today. The match is
scheduled to start at 10.00 a.m., preceded by an official opening
ceremony.
Suwandi said although he had beaten Nielsen at the 1995
Indonesia Satellite tournament, Indonesia was still the underdog.
"Based on their rankings, they are better. It will be hard to
defeat them," he said.
"The way he (Suwandi) hits the ball is usually close to the
net. But I hope I can handle that," said Nielsen, whose ATP
ranking is 553.
Atet said he was satisfied with the draw.
"It's good to know that Suwandi will play first. He is a
brilliant, mature, experienced and anticipatory player," he said.
Hunt, world ranked 285, was optimistic that his team would
beat Indonesia 5-0.
"I'm happy to play players whose ranking are 700. Our chances
are pretty good, we can win 5-0," said the 24-year-old player.
"It's really hot here but after practicing here for five days,
I think everybody is OK," he added.
But Hunt said he is yet to play against Andrian in any
tournament. "Just wait and see tomorrow."
Atet expressed his hope that today's weather would be hot.
"If tomorrow is hot, we hope our players can force them to be
exhausted," he said.
Sore throat
Atet said Andrian was recovering from a sore throat and is
ready for today's match.
"Our team doctor has examined Andrian and his condition is
getting better. He was suffering a light flu," he said.
On the second day, doubles Bonit Wiryawan/Sulistyo Wibowo will
face James Greenhalgh/Glenn Wilson. The last day will feature
Suwandi versus Hunt and Andrian versus Nielsen.
New Zealand's top players Brett Stevens and Steven T. Downs
will not play in the Cup because they hope to improve their ATP
ranking.
Team manager Jeff Simpson also opted not to field the
country's second best Teo Susnjak because "after a selection, we
think Mark will be the best person to do this job".
"The team preparation is going quite well. We've been here for
five days and as days go by we can deal with the heat," said
Simpson.
The Indonesia Tennis Association's chairman Sarwono
Kusumaatmadja said the Indonesian team must do their best.
"If they play well and fight to the end, they will surely win.
If they win, they can get a bonus vacation in Bali. But if they
play bad and disappoint the public, they can go to Nusa
Kambangan," he said, laughing. Nusa Kambangan is an Alcatraz-
like, small island south of Central Java for prisoners.
"If we can win, we hope for greater support of tennis
development in Indonesia," he said.
Daily tickets will be sold for Rp 5,000 (US$2) and three-day
tickets are sold for Rp 10,000. (yan)