RI set to beat Taiwan in Davis Cup play-off

RI set to beat Taiwan in Davis Cup play-off

JAKARTA (JP): Having sized up Chinese Taipei's strength, Indonesia is optimistic in beating the visitors at a Davis Cup play-off, slated for Mar. 31 to Apr. 2 at the Senayan tennis stadium.

Given that Indonesia's number three Donny Susetyo has defeated both Taiwan's number one Lien Yu-hui and number two Chen Chih- jung, non-playing captain Wailan Walalangi told reporters, "I think we have a good chance of winning."

"The point is that we must win," Wailan stressed. Wailan was speaking prior to yesterday's consultation with the chairman of the National Sports Council Wismoyo Arismunandar.

The national Davis Cup team, headed by the Indonesian Tennis Association's chairman, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja, reported yesterday its preparations for the event.

Indonesia, now in Group One of the Asia-Oceania Davis Cup zone, is on the verge of being relegated to Group Two after a 5-0 trouncing by South Korea in Seoul early last month. A victory over Chinese Taipei is crucial.

Donny Susetyo downed Lien Yu-hui 6-2 7-6 at the Asian University Tennis Championships in Hong Kong in 1993. Donny fell to Chih-jung at the Malaysian Satellite Tennis Championships, but at the Asian Tennis Championships in Hong Kong last December, Donny managed to retaliate with a 5-7, 7-5 7-5 victory.

"Technically speaking, Chih-jung is actually better than Yu- hui," Donny said, "but his ranking is lower. Hence, he is regarded as Taiwan's number two."

According to Donny, Chih-jung is a versatile player. He shows an all-around mastery of the game, while Yu-hui shows a tendency to rely heavily on his volley serves," Donny said.

Donny added that he also nailed a victory over Taiwan's number four Tsai Chia-yen at the Indonesian Satellite Tennis Circuit in Bandung, West Java, but has never encountered Taiwan's number three Chen Wei-ju. Given his encounters with Taiwan's two top players, Donny believes it would not be too hard for him to graft out a victory over the Taiwanese opponents.

Indonesia's number two, Suwandi, said he has played and beaten Yu-hui three times. Suwandi has never met Chih-jung but he once fell to Taiwan's number four Chia-yen at a Junior Championship in Taiwan. Suwandi declined to comment on his chance of winning against the Taiwanese. "Let's just see then," he said.

Indonesia dropped number one Benny Wijaya, who has, so far, had to skip two Davis Cup play-offs due to his tight training programs after joining a Taiwanese club early this year.

Sarwono acknowledged that, this year, Indonesia faces difficult challenges in international tournaments, both in the men's and women's.

Apart from the Davis Cup play-off, Indonesian women players are scheduled to take on Argentina in the qualifying round of the Federation Cup in July and to defend its supremacy at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in December, Sarwono said. (arf)