Jakarta to host Uzbekistan in Davis Cup Group I matches

Jakarta to host Uzbekistan in Davis Cup Group I matches

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta will host the Group I of Davis Cup match
between Indonesia and Uzbekistan next February and is hoping for
a miracle to beat the visiting team.

"We have received notification from the International Tennis
Federation (ITF) saying that Indonesia will host the match. It's
most likely that we'll stage it at the Kemayoran Tennis Center,"
a spokesman of the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti), Benny
Mailili, told reporters.

"Being a host has its own advantages for Indonesian players
and they must take advantage of it. At least, the spectators and
weather are on our side," he added.

Benny, however, said Surabaya would be a better place to stage
the match considering it was easier to attract a large crowd to
come to the match.

He also said the match would be held on a hard court instead
of a slow court, which is favored by the visitors.

"Technically, the Uzbeks are far too strong for us because
they have better ranks. Only a miracle can save us, just like
when we beat South Korea 3-2 in 1988. The Uzbeks can easily
dominate challengers in tournaments of a US$75,000 class," Benny
said.

"On the other hand, its difficult for our tennis players to
achieve good results in the US$15,000 class tournaments. You can
imagine the gap," he added.

Speaking of the women's side, Benny said Wynne Prakusya was
still Indonesia's main hope while Angelique Wijaya was expected
to catch up soon to build a strong women's team.

"Wynne, currently ranks above 100 and has to participate in
more tournaments to add experience and improve skills. At the
least, she has to reach the quarterfinals or semifinals in each
tournament. We expect her to be under the 100 ranking in the near
future," he said.

"Her coach, Suzanna Anggarkusuma has done a great job by
selecting which tournaments Wynne plays in. But she must be very
careful to note Wynne's weaknesses and improve on them," he
added.

As for Angelique, currently ranked 35th by the ITF, she was
expected to reach a ranking of 10th after her participation in
the Osaka Mayor Cup in Japan.

Securing her way to the quarterfinals, eighth seed Angelique,
beat Japanese Mayako Kosokawa in a tight game (6-1, 6-1) in one
hour 10 minutes.

Angelique will meet ITF ranked seven and second seed Czech
Renata Voracova. (nvn)