RI Davis Cup team hopes to beat Japan

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.