RI looks to exploit court advantage in Fed Cup tie against Germany
RI looks to exploit court advantage in Fed Cup tie against Germany
Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian women's tennis team is looking to try and exploit
the advantage of playing on a hardcourt when it hosts Germany in
the play-offs for the Fed Cup competition next week.
The tie will be played from July 19 to 20 at the Senayan
Tennis Stadium, which has turned its court from a flexy-pave clay
court to a hardcourt.
Two of the team's ace players, Angelique Widjaja and Wynne
Prakusya, both fresh from their Wimbledon outing, tried out the
court on Tuesday, seemingly eager to capitalize on the German's
unfamiliarity with the surface.
Sandy Gumulya and Septi Mende are also in the line-up, but the
two juniors, who have just come back from their triumphant outing
in Australia, will certainly be watching from the bench as
reserves.
The conversion of the court surface, which was prompted by the
players, is apparently an attempt by the Indonesian Tennis
Association (Pelti) to make the best of hosting the tie.
"I have grown up on hardcourts... So, Pelti's decision to use
that type is to our advantage," said Angie, as the 18-year-old is
popularly known.
She said that the team would have to concentrate on
readjusting to the court, though, given that their last hardcourt
play was back in March in a Miami tournament.
"At the moment, we are concentrating on familiarizing
ourselves with the court, as the surface results in a typically
fast bounce of the ball. European players are more familiar with
grass or clay, which have different a bounce," said Angie.
Angie, ranked 70th by the World Tennis Association (WTA), was
stopped in the second round at Wimbledon. However, teaming up
with Maria Vento-Kabchi, she managed to get as far as the
quarterfinals.
Wynne, who is ranked 133rd, talked about her conversation with
Barbara Rittner, a German team member, who revealed her dislike
for hardcourts.
"I once met Barbara Rittner, who will be in the German team
playing here. She was constantly asking about the type of court
used in the play-off matches.
"She said that we (Indonesia) would be stupid if we played
them on clay."
Indonesia has been awarded a berth in the play-offs after
finishing as one of the two best teams at a regional tournament
in Japan in April. The other Asian representative in the play-
offs is Japan, which will face Sweden on the same dates.
Germany, a two-time champion, has been consigned to the play-
offs after losing to Slovakia in the quarterfinals of the World
Group.
While seeking to take advantage of having the court of their
choice, Wynne said the Indonesian team will also bank on home
crowd support.
"I hope people will turn up at the games to support us. Home
crowds can play a big role in us winning," said Wynne, whose
singles run at Wimbledon fell short of reaching the main draw.
The German team will include Marlene Weingartner (WTA ranking
63), Barbara Rittner (89), Martina Muller (177) and Anca Barna
(240).