Indonesian Imron survives Thamrin Cup third round

Indonesian Imron survives Thamrin Cup third round

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Al Imron overcame Wu Yi Ming of Chinese Taipei 7-5, 6-2 in the
third round here on Thursday to become the only Indonesian in the
quarterfinal round of the Boy's category in the Thamrin Cup
International Junior Championships tennis competition.

The home side had five players but ended the day with only Al
Imron still in contention. Eko Putra, Elbert Sie, Chris Mayanto
and Eko Kurniawan all crashed out in their matches, which saw
South Korean contenders dominate the field.

Imron was dealt an early fright against Wu before regrouping
himself for an almost impossible fightback. The second seed
Indonesian was five games down before drilling away, winning
seven consecutive games.

The second was not as tough as in the opening, with Imron
dominating throughout.

Putra could only take two games, both in the opening set, in
his defeat by Dimitry Ivanov of Uzbekistan 6-2, 6-0. Elbert
looked to mount an offensive in the second set but Choi Jun
managed to hold on for his 6-3, 7-6 (10-8) victory.

Chris was a tough opponent for Jung Won Sun but only in the
opener as he began to run out steam to go down 6-4, 6-1. So was
Eko Kurniawan, who was felled 6-4, 6-1.

"He was very confident out there. He had good skills, his
ground strokes particularly worked well," Kurniawan told The
Jakarta Post after the match.

Finding four games down in the opening set, 18-year-old
Kurniawan clawed his way back to even the points. But he failed
to convert a flurry of advantages, which cost him the set.

"I could have swung the game in my favor. Unfortunately, it
was not my game. I made many unforced errors," he said.

After the defeat in the first set, Kurniawan admitted that he
had no motivation anymore and was easily brushed aside in the
second set.

In the Girls' division, Indonesia had the upper hand, with
three places in the semifinals, leaving Chan Yung Jan the only
visitor in the top four.

The host's domination was led by second seed Maya Rosa, who
beat Yiu Wai Man of Hong Kong 6-3, 6-2. Lavinia Tananta stopped
Joanne Cheung, also from Hong Kong, 6-3, 6-3.

The other home player was Septi Nindya Yutami, who took her
place at the expense of teammate Stella Sondang in a 6-2, 6-3
victory.

In the semifinals on Friday, Septi will take on Stella and
Maya will face Chan.