Indonesia secures two tennis golds
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)