Surya awarded win as top three march to Cigna semifinals
Surya awarded win as top three march to Cigna semifinals
Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Top national players dominated the US$11,800 Cigna Open tennis
tournament as they advanced to the semifinals after Friday's
quarterfinals at the Jakarta Hilton International Executive Club.
Saturday's semifinals will see top seed Hendri Susilo Pramono
challenged by third seed Sebastian Dacosta, and a match between
second seed Suwandi and Surya Wijaya.
Surya, who is seeded fourteenth, booked his ticket to the last
four without breaking sweat after seventh seed and veteran
Sulistyo Wibowo was forced out by a shoulder injury to hand Suryo
victory by default.
Hendri had to work hard only in the second set in his 6-1, 7-5
win over sixth seed Eko Kurniawan 6-1, 7-5. Suwandi faced little
challenge in defeating Suhendardinata 6-3, 6-1.
Friday's pairings saw an interesting match between veteran
Bonit Wiryawan and Sebastian, with the latter winning 6-4, 6-4 in
one hour 45 minutes.
In the women's singles, top seed Wukirasih Sawondari marched
into the next stage after she outplayed eighth seed Novianti
Warsono 6-1, 6-2.
She will take on third seed Eny Sulistyowati, who beat Lavinia
Tananta 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, in the quarters.
The other semifinal match will pit second seed Ayu Fani
Damayanti against non-seeded Febri Joana.
Meanwhile, in the men's competition, 36-year-old Bonit showed
that he could still pose tough opposition against his ten-years-
younger rival with them winning on serve alternately in the first
five games of the first set.
However, Sebastian broke Bonit's serve in the sixth game for a
4-2 lead before making another to seal the set 6-4.
Bonit put up a fiercer fight in the second set as he dashed to
a 3-1 lead, but Sebastian managed to catch up to even the score
at 3-3. After allowing another game in the eighth, Sebastian
wrapped up the game with a 6-4 win.
Bonit then complained about his increasing age and being rusty
having an adverse impact on his play.
"The age margin is disadvantageous to me and I have not been
practicing as regularly as before for a couple of years," he told
The Jakarta Post.
He added that a few years ago he used to win nine out ten
matches against Sebastian.
Being able to get as far as the quarterfinals might signal
that he still had fire in his belly. His comment provided a
wider view on national tennis, saying that his ability to get
that far in the tournament indicated that the regeneration was
still lagging behind.
Earlier in the second round, Indonesia's future hope, 17-year
old Sunu Wahyu Trijati, was outplayed by 39-year-old veteran
Tjahjono 3-6, 2-6.
Other young players, the twin brothers Immanuel Prakoso and
Immanuel Prabowo also exited in the early stages.
"The young players need more intensive training and more
tournaments if we want to tackle the generation problem in less
than two years," Bonit said.
Sunu appeared to be aware of his undeveloped talent, saying
that he was not as yet a match for Tjahjono, let alone Suwandi
and Hendri, a problem he put down to a lack of competing in high-
level tournaments.
"I may be able to excel in the juniors, but I still find it
hard to get through in the seniors," he said, adding that the
young players tend to show power play while experienced players
combine tactics and positioning.