RI pair clinches satellite title

RI pair clinches satellite title

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's best men's tennis doubles Bonit
Wiryawan/Sulistyo Wibowo have won the first of the 1997 Satelindo
Satellite tennis circuit series, beating Australians Jed
Gould/Jordan Kerr 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2.

Sunday's final at Senayan tennis complex saw the duo win in
two hours 28 minutes in front of a crowd that included Indonesian
Tennis Association chairman Sarwono Kusumaatmadja.

Bonit/Sulistyo received a US$393.75 first prize.

Australian Jurek Stasiak won the men's singles title to bag
$203 after defeating Prahlad Srinath of India 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

Antara reported that the Indonesian doubles team had no
trouble winning the first set 6-3 after breaking the Australians'
service twice.

Tie break

But in the second set, Gould/Kerr fought from behind to equal
at 4-4. Bonit/Sulistyo took over again to go to 5-4 before
fighting it out to 5-5 and then 6-6. The Indonesians went down 4-
7 in the tie break.

Bonit complained: "The court was very bad, maybe because it
needed water."

After the court was watered, Bonit/Sulistyo gave their
opponents no quarter and concluded the last match 6-2.

Sarwono told Antara he had asked Gelora Senayan's management
board to fix the court. Nothing has happened yet.

"They promised to fix it next month," he said.

Sulityo said it was his second title this year. He and Bonit
won a title in Spain early August.

In 1996, Sulistyo and Bonit won the satellite tournaments in
Bandung, Surabaya and Semarang. (yan)