Indonesians level at 1-1 with Swiss in Fed cup match

JAKARTA (JP): Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia and Martina Hingis of Switzerland both won their opening singles matches yesterday to leave the score at 1-1 in the Fed Cup second-round playoff between the two countries.

Home favorite and world number 26 Yayuk combined experience and confidence to blunt world number 90 Patty Schnyder's excellent forehands. Yayuk graced Senayan indoor tennis stadium with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph.

Swiss number one, and the youngest Wimbledon champion in history, Martina told Liza Andriyani that a 6-0, 6-0 rout should be explained by the difference between a world number 17 and a player ranked 564 places behind her.

Yayuk, attributing her victory to her 12-year Fed Cup experience and self-confidence, praised Schnyder's accuracy and fine basic skills in tennis. "Accuracy prevents her from committing too many errors. Hence, I have to solidify my attacks to 'kill' her. Otherwise she will never 'die,'" Yayuk said after the match.

The 26-year-old Javanese also praised her opponent's twisted serves. "Such serves are quite typical for left-handers like her. Her second serves are also excellent. Those kind of serves are difficult to handle if one is not used to them," Yayuk said.

The 17-year-old Swiss, on the other hand, said that she had no cause to grumble. "My serves were not as good as usual. Perhaps because I am not used to this type of court," she said, referring to the hard court of the indoor stadium. She added that she plays better on clay.

As for Hingis, even though she outsmarted Liza easily, she still praised Liza, saying that the match was a "close" one. Liza just failed to win enough critical points. She forced a deuce twice.

Hingis said that Liza was somewhat error-prone and that playing the first Fed Cup match might have caused Liza's defeat.

"But she plays very good tennis. Her style of play is almost the same as Yayuk's. But Yayuk level is certainly better," Hingis said.

Liza said that Hingis hit the ball very deep; she could do nothing. "This was my most difficult game. This result tells me that I have to work hard to improve," she said, bravely.

Today, Yayuk plays Martina at 10 a.m. on the same court followed by a match between Liza and Schnyder and a doubles match pitting Yayuk and her long-time doubles partner Romana Tedjakusuma against Hingis and Schnyder.

Yayuk said she had nothing to lose with playing a higher- ranked rival. "I cannot promise a victory. She is very smart. I saw her outwit Steffi Graf in Rome," Yayuk said.

"But I think I can beat her. At least I have the experience of upsetting those in the top ten, such as Mary Jo Fernandez or Lindsay Davenport." (arf)