Japanese debutante shines in first day of tennis open

JAKARTA (JP): Big names gained mixed results in the opening round of the Danamon Indonesia Women's Open tennis championships yesterday.

While top seed Sabine Appelmans of Belgium safely cleared her first hurdle with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 win over Beate Reinstadler of Austria, Taiwan's second-seed Wang Shi-ting became the first major causality of the US$164,000 tournament.

World number 42 Wang marked her worst record in her third appearance here, walking away with a surprising 1-6, 4-6 loss to Kyoko Nagatsuka of Japan.

Wang reached the semifinals in 1994, but crashed out in the quarterfinals last year.

Confident debutante Nagatsuka got off to a dazzling start, but then could not maintain her composure in the second set, falling behind 1-4.

The 22-year-old Japanese woman changed tactics at a critical point, slowing down the pace for a number of exhausting rallies. Pay off came as the run-out Wang sprayed her strokes off the court.

"I had a good chance in the second set, but Kyoko started to play well," Wang said after the match. "I did not sleep well after attending the welcome party last night, and I felt a little fever this morning. But it was not the reason for my loss."

Nagatsuka looked secure with her upset victory, her first in four career meetings with Wang.

"My big worry was the heat just before the match. That's why I put some ice on my neck during changeovers," Nagatsuka said.

The Japanese world number 81, who notched up her best Grand Slam record last year by reaching the fourth round in the Australian Open and the French Open, will now meet American Erika de Lone.

De Lone was troubled by the overhead lobs drilled by Indonesia's wild card recipient Enny Sulistyowati. The American went on to win 7-5, 6-3.

Playing on the center court of the Senayan tennis complex, Belgian Appelmans was also forced to survive a thrilling first- set, which saw her broken twice to trail four games to love.

Maturity

Maturity allowed her to fight back with brilliant winners from the baseline. Appelmans, who is bracing for a Federation Cup duel here in two weeks, came close to another break at 6-6, but Reinstadler defended strongly to save her serve.

The lefthanded Belgian played a more consistent game to take total control of the second set. She hit the ball to every corner, leaving her Austrian opponent sprawling.

Reinstadler broke the duck at 1-3, but Appelmans upped gears to win the next three games. The top seed will take on Jana Nejedly of Canada in the second round tomorrow. Nejedly defeated Nathalie Dechy of France 7-5, 6-3 yesterday.

In the earliest match, fourth seed Marianne Werdel-Witmeyer of the United States clawed back from a set down to beat Tang Min of Hong Kong 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. In the second round, Werdel-Witmeyer will meet Rika Hiraki of Japan, a 7-5, 7-6 (7-2) winner over Nanne Dahlman of Finland.

Home favorite Yayuk Basuki wrapped up yesterday's program with a win in doubles. Teaming up with American Linda Wild, Yayuk downed the Australian duo of Rachel McQuillan and Anabel Ellwood 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.

Yayuk will begin her singles campaign today, playing American qualifier Janet Lee, who upset Claudia Porwik of Germany early in the afternoon. (05/amd)