Fri, 14 Sep 2001

Indonesia secures two tennis golds

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Indonesia made full use of the absence of Thailand's top tennis players at the Kuala Lumpur 2001 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games here as it assured itself two gold medals on Thursday.

No matter who will win the women's singles and doubles finals on Friday, the gold medals will be added to Indonesia's collection as both matches at Jalan Duta Tennis Complex will feature the country's players.

The all-Indonesian women's singles final will pit Romana Tedjakusuma and Wynne Prakusya after both labored to win their semifinal matches on Thursday.

Romana came back from a set down to beat Kho Chin Bee 4-6, 6- 3, 6-0 in 1 hour 55 minutes.

"Kho was armed with a very good forehand and played so quick that she could take the first set. But I managed to regain my feet and win the match," Romana told reporters after the match.

Meanwhile, Wynne Prakusya secured the second final berth after defeating Thailand's hope Viratprasakt Suchanun. Seeded first here, Wynne lost her first set 4-6 although she had taken a 3-1 lead. But experience helped her to wrap up the game 6-3, 6-4 in more than two hours.

"I should not have dropped the first set as I already held a 3-1 lead. But I was dazzled by the skylight so I could not see the ball clearly. All I knew was that suddenly the ball was coming in doubles," Wynne said after the match.

"Once I let my play down, Suchanun managed to bounce back and took advantage of me. She is very dangerous once given the opportunity to develop her play," she added.

Wynne admitted that she had lost her confidence following the first set defeat and could only rely on her experience.

"I don't like the way she plays her balls because I cannot return them accurately. It is either too far or too close," she said.

"But Suchanun still lacks experience so she could not take advantage of my lapse in confidence. It would have been a different story if she had managed to apply more pressure upon me. I decided not to play long rallies with her," she added.

The women's finals will be held on Saturday allowing one day of rest on Friday.

Commenting on their chances in the final, both Romana and Wynne said they would just do their best, saying the most important thing was that Indonesia had secured the gold medal.

"We will have to see on court tomorrow. Those who are better prepared will win. But as a professional player, I will not give in easily," said Wynne.

Later in the afternoon, Indonesia also ensured its third gold medal in women's tennis. It won the women's team tennis gold medal on Tuesday.

Veteran tennis player Yayuk Basuki teamed up with Wynne to beat Thailand's pair of Orawan Lamanthong and Chattida Thimjapo with relative ease 6-3, 6-1.

In the second semifinals, Romana and Angelique Widjaja received somewhat tougher opposition from another Thai pair of Napaporn Tongsalee and Suchanun. The Indonesians, however, won the match 6-2, 6-4 to secure the final berth thus securing the gold medal.

Team manager Aga Soemarno said all players had been ordered to give their best performance.

"We don't have any special preference or instructions on who should win the gold medals. It will depend on their performance on court," he told The Jakarta Post.

Meanwhile, in the men's individual events, Indonesian tennis players also cruised to their next rounds quite easily.

Suwandi scored a love game in his victory over Cambodian Pel Vanna while compatriot Peter Handoyo edged out host player Adam Jaya 6-1, 6-2.

Aga tipped Suwandi to meet a player from Thailand in the final. (nvn)