Tamarine Tanasugarn into Princess Cup last eight

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thailand tennis player Tamarine Tanasugarn has been named the top seed of the Wismilak International Sanex WTA Tour 2002 to be held at the Grand Hyatt Nusa Dua Hotel in Bali from Sept. 21 through Sept. 29, an official said.

The tournament's spokesman, Benny Mailili, told reporters in Nusa Dua on Thursday that it was Tamarine's second time to participate in the Tour after the first one was held last year.

The Thai player, who is now ranked 27th in the world, failed to reach the finals last year as she was stopped by Indonesia's junior player Angelique "Angie" Widjaja in the quarterfinals.

This year's second seed in the US$225,000 Tour will be Spanish veteran player Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who is now ranked 28th in the world. Third seed is Argentinean Clarisa Fernandez, who is the world's 35th.

Asked about what the opportunities would be for last year's champion Angelique Widjaja in defending her title, Benny said there were four players who would pose a serious threat to Angelique, now ranked 59th in the world.

"But hopefully, the weather and the support from spectators will be beneficial factors in helping Angie to repeat her success in the tournament, including defeating top seed Tamarine Tanasugarn.

"Frankly speaking, Angie's success last year would not have been possible without the support of spectators and the weather," he said as quoted by Antara.

The four serious contenders are Tamarine, Arantxa Sanchez, Henrieta Nagyova of Czechoslovakia and Conchita Martinez of Spain.