RI Davis Cup team hopes to beat Japan

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The nonplaying captain and coach of the Indonesian Davis Cup team, Tintus Arianto Wibowo, was upbeat on Thursday about his squad's chances against the Japanese.

Despite the wide gap in the individual rankings of the Indonesian and Japanese players, Tintus said that in terms of skill and experience his squad could match the Japanese.

"The fact that our players are ranked lower than the Japanese means nothing, as what will count is determination, not to forget luck," Tintus said here on Thursday.

He said there was nothing special about the Japanese players, and Indonesia had gotten the best of them in previous matches.

"Suwandi once beat Gouichi Matamura (ATP ranking 262)," he said.

Indonesia will face the Japanese in a Davis Cup tie from Feb. 6 to Feb. 9 at the Senayan tennis courts at the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex in Jakarta.

Prima Simpatiaji, ranked 697th, will face Japan's number one, Takao Suzuki (205), in the opening singles match. In the second singles, Indonesia's number one, Febi Widhiyanto (547), will take on Motomura.

Tennis Association of Indonesia (Pelti) chairwoman Martina Widjaya shared Tintus optimism, saying Indonesia had the advantage of playing in front of the home crowd.

"We are really hopeful that the fans will throw their weight behind the players," she said.

Asked to assess the Japanese players, Martina also played down their higher rankings: "Suzuki is not that good a player."

Martina predicted the Indonesian doubles pair would win their match.

On Saturday, Japan's Takahiro Terachi will partner with U.S.- born Thomas Shimada against Suwandi and Hendri Susilo Pramono in the doubles.

With the unpredictable weather the capital has experience of late, Martina said she had hired two rain makers to stave off any downpours at the Senayan sports complex.