Indonesia pummels Puerto Rico in Fed Cup

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's Fed Cup squad triumphed over higher ranked Puerto Rico in an away tie on Sunday, completing a quartet of Asian winners in the World Group II playoffs.

While most of their compatriots were asleep in the early hours of Sunday, the team of Wynne Prakusya, Romana Tedjakusuma and Ayu Fani Damayanti swept to a 4-1 victory in the coastal town of Salinas.

Thailand, Japan and China had won their World Group II playoffs by identical 4-1 scores at home.

Without injured national number one Angie Widjaja, the team silenced doubters who said they would be unable to overcome Puerto Rico, fielding world number 68 Kristina Brandi.

Former world top 20 player Yayuk Basuki said the victory showed the rise of Asian women's tennis and that the mental side of the game mattered most in team competitions.

"We went there without great expectations, without Angie and just expecting to do our best, while the Puerto Ricans were playing in front of their home crowd with all the pressure on them," Yayuk said on Monday.

"If Puerto Rico had played here, they probably would have done better."

Wynne played a key role in the victory. After the teams ended Saturday's first day tied 1-1, the Surakartan, ranked 388 on the WTA Tour, took to the court against Brandi on Sunday.

With the temperature nearing 37 degrees Celsius, Brandi went down 2-5 with a string of unforced errors.

"I was surprised because I knew that she is a player who doesn't commit many errors and is very accurate," Wynne, 24, was quoted as saying by Puerto Rican Spanish-language daily El Nuevo Dia on its website www.endi.com.

"I tried to make her rally and not commit many errors myself."

Brandi, 28, won two games in a row to reach 4-5, but Wynne held serve to take the set.

In the second set, with her opponent still unable to find her range, Wynne reached 4-0 and 5-2. Brandi, complaining of stomach cramps, took a five-minute bathroom break.

It did not help, and she lost the match 4-6, 2-6.

Veteran Romana Tedjakusuma then sealed the victory. Although ranked 501 to Vilmarie Castellvi's 168, Romana won 6-2, 6-2.

Romana, who turns 30 on July 24, lived up to the expectations of nonplaying captain Suzanna Anggarkusuma, who chose her over 16-year-old Ayu.

Wynne and Ayu combined to take the meaningless fifth doubles match 6-2, 6-0 over Castellvi and Jessica Roland.

With her Puerto Rico victories, Wynne surpassed Yayuk's records for total wins (60), singles wins (31) and doubles wins (31) for an Indonesian player since the country began competing in the then Federation Cup in 1969.