Indonesia out of Davis Cup Asia Oceania
Indonesia out of Davis Cup Asia Oceania
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian tennis took a knock on Saturday when its Davis Cup team was ousted from the Asia Oceania zone for the first time ever.
China inflicted the upset defeat after its doubles team of Li Si and Zheng Yu Li tore their Indonesian opponents Sulistyo Wibowo and Bonit Wiryawan apart with a 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 6-3 win for a 3-0 unassailable lead.
The Indonesian duo had an excuse for their loss, blasting refereeing standards of the match.
"We lost to bad line calls, that's all. I have never felt cheated like this," Sulistyo stormed. "Who could stand the poor refereeing standard in such a tense match? We tried hard not to lose our concentration after a string of crucial bad line calls, but we were finally worn out."
The referee made a note of the Indonesian players' constant protests against the line calls which went against them in his match report, but Sulistyo said it was useless.
"Even the Taiwan referee overruled a few line calls which favored us. I have to say that this is an abnormal defeat," said Sulistyo, a regular Davis Cup backbone in the past five years.
The two teams will play reverse singles matches, although they would only serve as academic interest. Indonesia's number one Andrian Raturandang will meet his Chinese opposing number Zhang Yu and Feby Widhiyanto takes on Zheng Yu Li.
Indonesia, twice moved to the verge of World Group in 1980s, will play a minor league next season.
Asian Games
The defeat casts a shadow on Indonesia's bid to win medals in the 13th Asian Games tennis competition. The Indonesian Tennis Association has said it will not send the Davis Cuppers to the Asiad in Bangkok in December if they lose to China.
"I think we still deserve berths to the Asiad despite our Davis Cup failure. Performance-wise, we are fit enough to compete in the Asiad," said Sulistyo.
In the World Group, Jonas Bjorkman and Nicklas Kulti overwhelmed minimal Spanish opposition to put Sweden into the Davis Cup final for the 12th time with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Javier Sanchez and Julian Alonso.
Sweden now hold a 3-0 winning lead and face the winner of the United States and Italy in the final from Dec. 4 to 6. The visiting Italians held a 2-0 lead over the Americans after Friday's singles in Milwaukee.
AFP reported that the 77-minute doubles triumph at the Kungliga Tennishallen, Sweden came in the wake of Friday's opening singles sweep by the host.
Swedish number one Bjorkman beat world number seven Alex Corretja 6-3, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 and debutant Thomas Johansson upset French Open champion Carlos Moya 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (8-6) to put the Scandinavians into a winning position.
Sweden has played the last two finals, rolling over the U.S. last December for the title and losing in 1996 to France.
Australia also took an unbeatable 3-0 lead in its World Group qualifying tie against Uzbekistan at home after Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde wrapped up the rubber and the tie 6-3, 7-6 (7- 3), 7-6 (7-4) against the Uzbek pair of Oleg Ogorodov and Dmitri Tomashevich.
The win secures Australia's place in next year's elite World Group, after it had been endangered by its unexpected loss to Zimbabwe in the first round on grass at Mildura in rural Victoria last April.
In Osaka, Japan, Russia won both its matches against Japan on Saturday to take a decisive 3-0 lead in another Davis Cup World Group qualifying round.
Russia will now join the elite 16-nation Davis Cup World Group regardless of the results of the remaining two singles matches scheduled for Sunday.
The world's No. 54 Marat Safin of Russia beat 128th-ranked Takao Suzuki 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 6-3 on the Utsubo Tennis Center's outdoor hard court.
In the doubles match, Safin combined with No. 10 Yevgeny Kafelnikov to defeat Suzuki and No. 209 Goichi Motomura 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.