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)