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.