Suwandi to meet Febi in Cigna final
Musthofid The Jakarta Post Jakarta
Suwandi came back from a set down to beat Prima Simpati Aji 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in the semifinals of the Rp 60 million (US$5,890) Cigna Open at the Hilton Executive Club Hardcourts here on Saturday.
He will meet 2001 champion Febi Widhiyanto, who booked his finals spot at the expense of doubles partner Hendri Susilo Pramono with a 6-3, 6-4 win in the other match.
Febi is vying to make it a double victory after he and Hendri reached the final with a 7-5, 6-2 win over the pairing of Sebastian Dacosta and Surya Wijaya.
Their opponents will be Edy Kusdaryanto/ Ferdy Fauzi, 6-0, 6-4 winners over Ferza Gautama/ Johan Samawi.
The women's doubles competition was completed with the top prizes going to Liza Andriyani/ Wukirasih Sawondari. The triumphant pair made short work of Moerid and Mima Chernovita 6- 0, 6-3.
While Febi gears up for his probable double, Liza has just one to accomplish, when she takes on Diana Julianto in the women's singles final.
Rain again delayed Saturday's play which was finally resumed four hours later.
Suwandi held serve to go up 4-1 in the first set during which the two opponents swapped a love game each. But the top seed's game seemed to stagnate and he let Prima back in it.
Prima, 21 years old, displayed a fine comeback with his thundering serves and punishing drives. He did not allow Suwandi to get back on track and won five straight to win the first set.
The second set was a see-saw battle with Suwandi taking the first game.
Prima was again outstanding with his powerful serves, but Suwandi too proved to be unstoppable when he held serve.
The more experienced Suwandi showed his poise in containing Prima's blistering serves with his backhand returns. When he had the chance he punished his opponent with drop shots.
He also cunningly forced Prima into long rallies which resulted in the latter apparently running out of steam as the match wore on.
Suwandi then completely controlled the third set with a 6-0 drubbing.
"I seemed to allow him an opportunity to lift his game," Suwandi said about the abrupt turn of events during the opening set.
"He had good serves initially. But then I started getting comfortable with it and began attacking on my return shots.
"He looked to be running our of stamina after I started to dictate the pace with long rallies," he said.
Despite the defeat, Prima's play drew applause from the majority of the audience, especially when he impressively raced from a 1-4 deficit to take the opening set. But in the end he failed to hold on against a cool and experienced Suwandi.
"He is very cool on the court, the sort of player we rarely have. To make things worse, my stamina deserted me and I was beaten easily in the third set," Prima said.