Peter advances to Cigna semis
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Peter Handoyo was stretched to three sets to beat Sebastian Dacosta 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the US$9,000 Cigna Open here on Friday.
Other quarterfinal winners were top seed Suwandi, second seed and last year's champion Febi Widhiyanto, and Hendri Susilo Pramono.
After winning the opening set, Peter, who is seeded fifth in the tournament, found tougher opposition from his third seeded opponent, going three games down at the start of the second set at the Hilton Executive Club tennis courts.
The U.S.-based player, who has taken a one-year sabbatical from college to concentrate on his tennis tour, fought back to take three consecutive games.
By 12 games the score was level until Peter failed to hold on to crucial points while Sebastian made the best of his well- placed passing shots.
The third set remained tight with both players battling closely before Peter broke Sebastian's serve in the closing game.
"He delivered good passing shots. It wore me down. Luckily I won. I wish I could have finished the match quickly so as to be able to prepare for my doubles fixture," said Peter, who is paired with Suwandi for the doubles.
"However, Sebastian played well and I had to battle it out for almost three hours," said the 23-year-old student at Tennessee University.
This year marks Peter's first appearance in the Cigna Open, which is now in its fourth year.
"I have been away from my studies since May last year. I want to focus on improving my play. I want to improve my ATP ranking to around 300," explained Peter, who is currently ranked 583rd.
He said he planned to take part in more than 20 tournaments with the Vietnamese Challenger being his next stop where he and Suwandi are to receive a wild-card entry in the doubles.
However, Peter's hopes of making a bang in his Cigna debut are likely to come up against a hurdle when he takes on Febi Widhiyanto in the semifinals on Saturday.
Febi booked his ticket to the semifinals after defeating Ferdi Fauzi 6-1, 6-4. The other semifinal match will pit last year's finalist Suwandi against Hendri Susilo Pramono.
Suwandi was too strong for Suhendar Dinata, walking away with a 6-2, 6-3 win while Hendri overcame Prima Simpatiaji, the youngest member of the Indonesian Davis Cup team, 7-5, 6-4.
The semifinal matches in the men's doubles will pit Peter Handoyo/Suwandi against Sebastian/Surya Wijaya and Febi Widhiyanto/Hendri Susilo Pramono against Prima Simpatiaji/Sunu Wahyu.
In the women's tournament, defending champion Liza Andriyani will be challenged by Maya Rosa while second seeded Wukirasih Sawondari will be tested by Sandy Gumulya in the semifinals.
Liza and Wukirasih will also have the chance to take the doubles prize when the pair meets Eny Sulistyowati/Mimma Chernovita in the final.