Suwandi hopes for the best in Davis Cup tie opener
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian best singles Suwandi expressed hope of being able to win over Uzbekistan's Oleg Ogorodov in the opening match of the Davis Cup Group I Asia Oceania tie at the Kemayoran Tennis Center, Central Jakarta, on Friday.
"It will be a tough match for me but that doesn't mean that I will go down easily. As the host, we will benefit from playing on the plexi-pave court and the weather is also on our side. Hopefully, I can grab the first point," Suwandi said on the sidelines of the draw for the Davis Cup here on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old added that he was not under pressure.
"I'll play without pressure, although on paper we are no match for Uzbekistan."
The opening ceremony is on Friday at 10:30 a.m. followed by the first singles match at 11 a.m. Indonesian second singles Andrian Raturandang will meet Uzbekistan top player Vadim Kutsenko afterwards.
On Saturday, Indonesian veteran doubles pairing Bonit Wiryawan and Sulistyo Wibowo will challenge Ogorodov and Dmitriy Tomashevich at 2 p.m.
Suwandi will face Kutsenko and Andrian will go up against Ogorodov in the reverse singles matches on Sunday beginning at 11 p.m.
The youngest Uzbeki player, Dmitriy Mazur, is standing by as a substitute.
Suwandi said he had never played either Ogorodov or Kutsenko during his career. But he had managed to overcome Tomashevich in the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima, Japan, and Mazur in the Pattaya Future in Thailand last year.
"If we lose this time, we will have to fight hard in the second round playoffs, because our target is to survive in Group I," said Suwandi.
The 28-year-old Ogorodov was keeping mum over his chances.
"It's very difficult to play in the first match because everybody wants to win at the start. I have never played him. For me, it's a very serious match. We have been preparing for two weeks here," said Ogorodov, whose tennis career includes competing in the Australian Open and Wimbledon (1996), US Open (1997) and the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.
Kutsenko has the highest world ranking among the Uzbekis at 205, which was recorded on Jan. 29. Ogorodov is ranked 226th in the world, Tomashevich 355th and Mazur 490th.
Meanwhile, Suwandi is ranked 423rd in the world, while Andrian and Bonit are ranked 1023rd. Sulistyo has, as yet, no world ranking.
Uzbekistan non-playing captain Abdukhamid Makhkamov said that his team had no problem with either the court surface or the weather. "No problem, we've had enough time to prepare. Everybody is ready for the match," he said.
Commenting on the withdrawal of the men's singles player Hendri Susilo Pramono, chairman of the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) Tanri Abeng said that he had no reason to seek an explanation from Hendri.
"No need for me (to ask for Hendri's clarification). I have to trust my own officials," he said. Tanri said he accepted the report on Hendri's withdrawal from his official in charge of athletes' development Sudjiono Timan, the Davis Cup team manager Martina Wijaya and non-playing captain Tintus Arianto Wibowo.
When an Uzbeki journalist asked Tintus about Hendri's withdrawal at a media gathering on Wednesday, Tintus replied: "He was not in the mood to play."
Hendri withdrew from the team last week citing the poor treatment he had received from Sudjiono. He was replaced by Andrian. (ivy)