Romana no shot in the dark for Games tennis
Romana no shot in the dark for Games tennis
JAKARTA (JP): Absent from national and international tennis
events for three years, Romana Tedjakusuma wants to make a golden
return to the 20th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Brunei
Darussalam.
"I'm glad I can join the SEA Games team after competing in the
national selection. I have proven that I am still good and I
don't want to spoil my chances," she said.
Her steady baseline game kept her unbeaten in six matches
during the selection.
Born in Surabaya on July 24, 1976, she won the individual
title at the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore by defeating Evangeline
Olivarez.
In the absence of top Thai player Tamarine Tanasugarn, who is
skipping the Games in a bid to improve her world ranking, Romana,
once the second best player in Indonesia after Yayuk Basuki, is
looking to return to top form.
Despite her long absence from the international circuit, she
is upbeat about her chances.
"Anything can happen on the court. I'll just try my best," she
said.
Romana's last international match was in the 1996 Olympics in
Atlanta, Georgia, when she reached the women's doubles
quarterfinals with Yayuk. They lost to Jana Novotna and Helena
Sukova of the Czech Republic.
She then concentrated on her major in mathematics at Nicholls
State University in Louisiana. She will graduate after two more
semesters.
The youngest of two children of Albert Tedjakusuma and Henny
Nongoi, Romana tried to maintain her form during college by
playing on campus and in the NCAA.
"Before returning home, I only reached the first round of the
main draw in the Little Rock tournament and managed to get to the
quarterfinals of a tournament at Hilton Head," she said.
Along with then top Indonesian player Yayuk, Romana showed
great promise with exceptional results in 1993 and 1994. She won
several tournaments, including the Brunei satellite and ITF
Future Circuit event in Bangkok, and became a familiar name to
Indonesian tennis fans.
Her best performance was at the 1994 Australian Open where she
reached the third round before losing to top 10 player Manuela
Maleeva.
"This year I'm the most senior member of the team. The
responsibility is automatically on my shoulders."
Romana, who loves to read and watch movies, said she was
unsure if tennis would remain part of her future.
"We'll see after I finish school. I'm not even sure if I want
to qualify for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Let's wait and see."
(yan)