Pelti announces team for next year's Davis Cup

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) official in charge of athlete and regional development, Sujiono Timan, announced on Wednesday the tentative lineup for next year's Davis Cup.

The six team members were announced as Dede Suhendar Dinata, Suwandi, Hendri Susilo Pramono, Sebastian DaCosta, Febi Widhiyanto and Edy Kusdaryanto.

"We picked the players based on their national and world rankings," Sujiono was quoted by Antara news agency as saying during a training session for the athletes.

The team will be pared down to the four core members who will face the Philippines in Manila in early February.

Sujiono also said Pelti would announce the coach and team manager after he met with association officials next week. For the time being, he said the six players were being trained by 1999 Davis Cup coaches Tintus Arianto Wibowo and Deddy Prasetyo.

He said the two coaches would likely train the Davis Cup team members for the remainder of this year.

"We select coaches who can guarantee that our team can win," he said, adding that the players were scheduled to compete in three Futures tournaments in India in January as part of their training.

Indonesia remains in the Davis Cup Group II Asia Oceania zone after losing to the Philippines in April. (ivy)