Indonesian Septi caps double win at Thamrin tennis event

Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Septi Nindya Yutami shrugged off the jitters to win the girls' singles competition at the Thamrin Cup International Junior Tennis Championships here on Saturday.

She beat Chan Yung Jan of Chinese Taipei 6-4, 7-5 in the finals at the Hilton Hardcourts.

Teaming up with Maya Rosa, the 16-year-old Indonesian carried on her winning form with a 7-5, 6-1 victory in the doubles over South Korean pair Chin Seul-ki and Shin Jun-yoon.

In the boys' field, Christopher Letcher of Australia booked his final place with a 7-6 (6-4), 6-2 win over top seed Hsieh Wang Cheng of Chinese Taipei.

In the final on Sunday, he will take on Korean Kim Sun-yong, a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 winner over compatriot Jun Wong-sun.

After being denied further contention in the singles, the home side now look to the doubles with pride after Eko Putro/Eko Kurniawan cruised through to the final.

Putro/Kurniawan, who are top seeds in the tournament, outplayed Chang Yao Chung/Hsieh Wang Cheng 6-2, 6-1. Their opponents will be Korean Kim Sun-yong/Jun Wong-sun, who came from behind to beat the Australia-Austria pairing of Christopher Letcher/Lie Sun Liang 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Septi admitted to being nervous playing against Chan Yung Jan, particularly in the second set, in which she had her serve broken early to trail 1-3 down.

She looked uneasy, which quite often resulted in the ball hitting the net or going wide. She also struggled against Chan's sweeping drives through both sides of the court, which caught her flatfooted at the baseline.

"Playing at center court before scores of spectators made me nervous," Septi, the second seed, told The Jakarta Post after the match.

"Get focused! Get focused!" coach Tintus Ariwibowo shouted from the stand.

Septi regained her composure to break back for 3-3. After exchanging another break, she improved her run with sharp drives and spins which sent Chan desperately swinging right and left.

She took over the lead and held on with another break in the 12th game for a 7-5 win.

"I shed the jitters and played a relaxed game," said Septi, whose Thamrin top form came one week after her victory at the Siliwangi Cup in Bandung, West Java.

Her next tournament will be in Tunisia at the end of this month, along with Maya Rosa.