South Korea leads RI 2-0 in Davis Cup
South Korea leads RI 2-0 in Davis Cup
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is on the verge of an upset home defeat in its Davis Cup Asia Oceania zone first-round battle against South Korea, after losing the two singles matches yesterday.
The Senayan clay court looked to lose the traditional magic that sent South Koreans crashing four times, as Suwandi and debutant Andrian Raturandang were outclassed in two bruising power games.
Indonesia's number one Suwandi went belly-up with 4-6, 0-6, 2- 6 to Yoon Yong-il, before Andrian completed the fiasco with his 2-6, 6-4, 2-6, 2-6 defeat to South Korean first singles Lee Hyung-taik.
The Indonesian young guns' fate will be decided in today's doubles match. Non-playing captain Wailan Walalangi hinted during the post-match conference that he would reassign Suwandi to team up with Eddy Kusdaryanto in the crucial rubber. Indonesia picked earlier its doubles team of Eddy and Donny Susetyo.
Suwandi and Eddy reached the Asian Championships final in Manila last year.
The Senayan tennis court saw Indonesia claw its way back from a 0-2 deficit to beat South Korea 3-2 in 1988, and tennis chief Sarwono Kusumaatmadja was upbeat about the same fairy tale.
"I'm looking forward to seeing our team spring a similar surprise tomorrow," said Sarwono, who mingled with a 300-strong partisan crowd during the matches.
Minister/State Secretary Moerdiono, former chairman of the Indonesian Tennis Association, deployed his special troops of film stars and singers, but they couldn't crank up the athletes' sputtering engines.
Suwandi, ranked 422th in the world, played like a beginner, throwing every return off the court during the battle of two baseliners.
After a hard-fought opener, Yoon got no demanding replies from his klutzy opponent before wrapping up the match in just an hour and 28 minutes.
"I was surprised," said world number 350 Yoon after the match. The South Korean notched up his third successive win against Suwandi.
Experience
In the second match, experience favored Lee in overcoming sharp shooting Andrian, who was making his first Davis Cup appearance.
The 19-year-old Indonesian posed a real threat to Lee with a second-set equalizer and a number of serve breaking chances in the third set. Andrian, however, lost his composure in end.
"I was too hasty to end the games I controlled. If only I had been a little bit more patient, I could have won the third set," said Andrian.
"Lee is more experienced than me in handling critical points," Andrian admitted.
Indonesian coach Deddy Prasetyo said that Andrian did everything right in his debut. But the coach criticized Suwandi for not living up to his potential. "I don't understand. How could he play that badly ?," he said.
Elsewhere in Jaipur, India, Jacco Eltingh gave the Netherlands a 1-0 lead before disrupted play on the opening day of the Davis Cup world group first round tie at the Jai Club grass courts.
AFP reported that Eltingh justified his surprise selection ahead of world number 11 Richard Krajicek by defeating India's main hope Leander Paes 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in the first singles.
In the second singles, Jan Siemerink and India's Mahesh Bhupathy were tied at two-sets all when rain halted the encounter.
Bhupathy, ranked 321 places below world number 20 Siemerink, delighted home fans by taking the first two sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). But the experienced Dutchman clawed back into the match by winning the next two sets 6-4, 6-4.
Bhupathy was leading 3-2 in the fifth when the rain came. The match will be resumed today morning before the doubles featuring Paes and Bhupathy against the former world champions Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis.