RI takes 2-0 lead over Philippines in Davis Cup

JAKARTA (Agencies): Indonesia opened up a 2-0 lead over the Philippines on the first day of the Asia Oceania Zone Group II Davis Cup tie at Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila on Friday.

Indonesian Davis Cup veteran Suwandi was not troubled in beating newcomer Johny Arcilla 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 while Suwandi's teammate Febi Widhiyanto upset Adelo Abadia, also in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Nonplaying captain Tintus Ariwibowo told The Jakarta Post from Manila that the Filipinos were outclassed.

"Our players have better technical skills and are in better physical condition. The matches themselves were not thrilling, because we already knew that Suwandi and Febi should be able to overcome them. But we knew we should not be too overconfident before the matches started."

He said both players were tense before the match.

"They were anxious because we were not competing on home soil. They had to face the local supporters, referees and the court condition. But the referees' judgments were fair."

The former national player also expressed hope that the duo Edy Kusdaryanto and Hendri Susilo Pramono could beat Pop Sabandon and Rolando Ruel Jr. on Saturday.

"I hope they can win the match tomorrow (Saturday). I think we are better prepared than the Filipinos," he said.

On Sunday, Febi will challenge Arcilla while Suwandi will fight Abadia.

Last April, the Philippines beat Indonesia 4-1 for the first time during their five encounters here and earned a final berth to fight for a place in Group I. Thailand was eventually promoted to Group I while the Philippines remained in Group II.

World group

In Harare, world number one Andre Agassi, welcomed on court with a standing ovation and beating drums, got the U.S. off to a winning start when he beat Zimbabwe's Wayne Black 7-5, 6-3, 7-5 in a Davis Cup world group tie on Friday.

Agassi overcame the Zimbabwean number two on the hard court indoor arena with a powerful display of baseline hitting that soon quietened the vocal home support.

Australian Open champion Agassi, coming off four successive Grand Slam finals, ignored the altitude to sweep aside the spirited Zimbabwean who had no answer to Agassi's serves of more than 190 kph.

Black's brother Byron plays Chris Woodruff in the second singles.

In Florianopolis, Brazil, the start of play in the Davis Cup world group tie between Brazil and France has been delayed by heavy rain.

Overnight rain left the clay court sodden, leading to a 30- minute postponement of the start.

But heavy rain around the time the first singles between Brazil's Fernando Meligeni and Cedric Pioline was due to start forced organizers to put covers over the court.

In Murcia, Spain, clay court specialist Albert Costa earned Spain a 1-0 lead in its Davis Cup world group first round tie on Friday by easing to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italy's Davide Sanguinetti.

Costa, who came into the match with a record of played two, lost two in singles this season, looked at home on the newly-laid clay court, keeping the Italian pegged on the baseline.

He made crucial breaks in the first two sets for 5-4, serving out each time with the minimum of fuss for a 2-0 lead.

Sanguinetti, whose powerful first serve had caused Costa problems at the start, lost his rhythm in the third set to fall 0-4 behind, and although he held his next two service games Costa was able to complete a comfortable victory.

Alex Corretja was playing Andrea Gaudenzi in the second match on Friday.

Hard work

In Lucknow, host India also took an early 2-0 lead in its Asia-Oceania group one Davis Cup clash with Lebanon here Friday, winning both of the opening singles rubbers.

India's number one Leander Paes made hard work of his match against Lebanon's hard-hitting Ali Hamadeh, who never looked completely comfortable on the grass surface.

Paes won the first set comfortably 6-4, but Hamedeh raised his game in the second, hitting some blistering service returns that caught his opponent wrong-footed.

With the set tied at 5-5, Paes, who with Mahesh Bhupathi makes up the world number one doubles pairing, struck a powerful forehand winner to break Hamadeh in the 11th game and then held his own serve to take the set 7-5.

The third set was even closer, with Paes having to save two set points on his own serve before finally seeing off his opponent in the ensuing tie break 7-6 (7-3).

In the second singles match, India's Syed Fazaluddin needed four sets to see off Hicham Zaatini, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7/3).