RI beats Qatar to meet Philippines in Davis Cup

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia moved closer to rejoining the Davis Cup Asia Oceania top flight after scoring a perfect 3-0 lead to host Qatar over the weekend.

The doubles pairing of Hendri Susilo Pramono and Edy Kusdaryanto settled the issue with a convincing 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 win over Qatari hopefuls Sultan Khalfan Al-Alawi and Nasser Gammen Al-Khulaifi on Saturday.

Indonesia will face the Philippines in the second playoff in April for a place in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group 1 competition next year. The Philippines set up another encounter with Indonesia after beating Chinese Taipei 3-2 on Sunday.

Rain interrupted the match in Doha on Friday, with Indonesia on course to a 2-0 lead. Second singles player Febi Widhiyanto led Qatar's number one player Al-Alawi by two sets to nil when the rain fell.

The overnight rest provided Febi with the fresh blood he needed to complete a 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 win in Saturday's resumption match.

Suwandi gave Indonesia an ideal start by beating Al-Khulaifi 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 in the first singles match on Friday.

Coach Dedy Prasetyo told Antara that the second singles match ran at a fast pace, with both players trading strokes mostly from the baseline.

"Sultan was very tough and he often moved up to the net but he unfortunately lacked killing shots. Febi made a few approaches and he hit winners from the net," Dedy said.

Despite the unassailable lead, Dedy said Suwandi and Febi would play the reverse singles matches later on Sunday.

"Of course I want them to complete a clean sweep," Dedy said.

Indonesia will meet the Philippines from April 2 to April 4.

In Manila, the Filipinos secured their victory after winning all the two reverse singles matches played on Sunday.

The host trailed 1-2 going into Sunday's deciders after its doubles pairing of Joseph Lizardo and Michael Misa lost 5-7, 4-6, 1-6 to the tandem of Ling Bing Chao and Chen Chi Jun on Saturday.

Lizardo leveled the tie at 2-2 after Ling retired with an injured right shoulder. The Philippine number one led 6-4, 3-5, 5-3 when Ling called it quits. Ling was formerly Indonesia's number one player, better known as Benny Wijaya.

Bryan Juinio, who lost to Ling on Friday, turned into the Philippine team hero when he thrashed Tsai Chia Yen 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 in the deciding match.

In Bangkok, Thailand completed a 5-0 win over Kazakhstan with easy victories in the remaining singles rubbers, AFP reported.

In the last two singles matches, Narathon Sricharphan, replacing younger brother Paradon, beat Aexei Kedruyk 6-1, 6-2, while Danai Udomchoke beat Tavel Baranoo 6-4, 6-0. Each match took 50 minutes. (yan)