Slovenia wary about Jakarta humidity
Moch. N. Kurniawan, Jakarta
The Slovenian women's tennis team coach says the hot, humid Jakarta weather could be a deciding factor in its World Group playoff of the Federation Cup against Indonesia.
"We might lose about 10 to 15 percent of our normal performance levels because of the high temperature and humidity in Jakarta," Boris Breskvar said during the team's practice session at the Senayan tennis courts here on Wednesday.
Geophysics and Meteorology Agency (BMG) data puts the temperature in Jakarta at between 25 and 32 degrees Celsius at this time of year.
Meanwhile, the temperatures in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, ranged between 15 and 25 Celsius at this time of year, according to Slovenia's environmental agency.
However, Breskvar said his team would still pose a tough challenge to the acclimatized Indonesians.
"The game will be tight. I know about Indonesian players and they know about us as well," said Breskvar, whose coaching experience includes his partnership with Anke Huber, a former top-ranked German tennis player.
He said the team had adapted well to the courts' characteristics.
The training session saw Slovenia's top player, Tina Pisnik, drilling forehand shots, with Breskvar shouting instructions from the bench.
While Pisnik had difficulty returning the ball when her male opponent attacked from the net, her serve was powerful.
Besides Pisnik, who is ranked 45 in the world, the visiting team comprises Katerina Srebotnik ranked 61, Andreja Klepac ranked 564 and non-ranked Tina Krizan.
The Indonesian team consists of Angelique "Angie" Widjaja, ranked world No. 134, Wynne Prakusya ranked 309, Sandy Gumulya ranked 427 and Liza Andriyani ranked 510.
The Indonesians turned up for their warm-up later in the day, with Angie and Wynne, who have just arrived from their Wimbledon tour, rehearsing their teamwork in the doubles against male opponents.
Indonesia has secured a match-up against Slovenia in the playoffs after emerging as the top team along with Thailand in April's Asia-Oceania zone qualifying matches.
Saturday and Sunday's matches are scheduled to be aired live by the state TVRI station.