Sabatini expected to play in Jakarta

Sabatini expected to play in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): World number seven Gabriella Sabatini may bring
down Indonesia's chances of winning in the qualifying round of
the women's team Federation Cup, scheduled to take place here on
Apr. 21-23.

"Sabatini may make it difficult for us to win. But we shall
not lose. We shall not be defeated before the game begins,"
Indonesian tennis queen Yayuk Basuki told reporters on Tuesday.

Yayuk, who ranks 25th in the world, said she was also ready to
defend Indonesia at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Chiang
Mai, Thailand, on Dec. 9-17. "I am ready whenever the country
needs me," she said.

Yayuk believes that the Argentinean Tennis Federation does not
take the contest with Indonesia lightly and, accordingly, has
decided to field its best team. "I knew for the first time that
they were going to field Gaby when I met her at the Lipton tennis
championships in Florida, the United States," Yayuk added.

Yayuk said that, on paper, the Indonesian women's team ranked
below the Argentinean squad, which will consist of Sabatini,
Florencia Labat, Patricia Tarabini, Mercedez Paz and Betina
Fulco.

Indonesia will have Yayuk, the country's number two Romana
Tedjakusuma and a second stringer who will be selected from the
ranks of Natalia Soetrisno, Eny Sulistyowati, M.V. Widyadharma,
Agustine Limanto and Mimma Chernovita.

Best players

Yayuk said her team mates were the best players Indonesia
currently has. She said she was prepared to play in both the
singles and the doubles events.

"The thing is, however, that I don't know how ready Romana is.
Since the Indonesia Open last January, I have not seen Romana
playing or training here because she has been in Surabaya," Yayuk
said.

Yayuk has met and fallen to Sabatini four times at official
tournaments. But she beat Sabatini in a friendly match at the
Kemayoran tennis complex last year.

Yayuk said she hoped she would, at least, be able to beat
Florencia.

But, she said, "the possibility is always there that I will
eventually succeed in beating her (Sabatini), although our ranks
differ greatly," Yayuk said. Taking Indian men's number one
Leander Paes as an example, Yayuk said that, although Paes ranked
about 100, he often defeated those in the world's best twenty at
Davis Cup.

Davis Cup

Meanwhile, the six-member Taiwanese Davis Cup team arrived
here on Tuesday for a play-off against Indonesia on March 31-
April 2 at the Senayan tennis stadium.

Team manager Su Peng-hong said that, like Indonesia, his team
is set to win because a loss would relegate it to Group Two of
the Asia-Oceania Group zone.

Coach Hwang Moon-Coul said he believed both his side and the
host side had the same chance of winning, given that both sides
have often met and sized up each other's strengths. "We know each
other's playing techniques," he said.

The Taiwan coach queried Indonesia's choice of choosing clay
court over hard court. According to him, Indonesia's number two
Suwandi and number three Donny Susetyo were both good on hard
courts. On his side, only Lien Yu-hui, currently Taiwan's number
one, is particularly good on hard courts, he said.

The draw to determine which of both teams' members will be
fielded first will take place this morning.

Yesterday the Chinese Taipei squad was given the chance to get
the feel of the court with a series of practice round(arf).