RI gears up for Davis Cup play-off match against China
RI gears up for Davis Cup play-off match against China
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Davis Cup team will take a week off before preparing for its Davis Cup Asia Oceania play-off match against China in April.
Non-playing captain Wailan Walalangi said yesterday that after Monday's 1-4 defeat by South Korea, his team of four will restart their centralized training session next Monday under coach Deddy Prasetyo.
"Six weeks of training should be more than enough to polish the team," Wailan said. "We only had three weeks of effective training for the match against South Korea," he added.
Indonesia looks certain to receive the choice of ground for the play-off match, scheduled from April 5 to April 7, because China was the host in their last Davis Cup in 1990.
"Chinese players are not as tough as South Koreans. We have a great chance to beat them if our six-week training program works well," said Wailan.
China outclassed Indonesia 4-1 in their Davis Cup second-round duel in Beijing. China has to face Indonesia in April's play-off after losing 1-4 to New Zealand over the weekend.
Wailan said that he planned to focus on basic training and building his players' confidence after the home defeat. "I was surprised that they lost their characteristic play in the South Korean rout," he said.
Indonesia fielded two newcomers in the first-round duel over the weekend. "It was a difficult decision but we had to do it," Wailan said.
The chairman of the Indonesian Tennis Association defended the decision to pick Eddy Kusdaryanto and Andrian Raturandang, but Wailan hinted yesterday that Indonesia could have beaten South Korea if more experienced players had made up his team.
Indonesia was led by Benny Wijaya in its last win over South Korea in 1994. Benny also helped the team to reach the World Group qualifying round in the same year, but crashed to Switzerland.
"Frankly, we need players of the same standard as Benny," Wailan said. However, Wailan dismissed any chance for the former Indonesian number one to join his team. "He has already rejected my offer," Wailan said. (amd)