Suwandi to meet Febi in Cigna final

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.