Tennis body to select team for Asia Games

Tennis body to select team for Asia Games

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Tennis Association announced on
Tuesday it would select two players to accompany Yayuk Basuki and
Wynne Prakusya to the 13th Asian Games in December.

National tennis team director Benny Mailili told a media
conference that Liza Andriyani, Irawati Moerid Iskandar, Mimma
Chernovita and Enny Sulistyowati would fight for the two
remaining places in a selection tournament at the Hilton Hotel
tennis courts next Monday through Wednesday.

Indonesia is definitely sending four women to the Asiad, but
is undecided about picking any men's representatives following a
Davis Cup whitewash to China over the weekend.

Yayuk is granted an automatic place in the national squad due
to her world ranking of 44, among the best in Asia. As for Wynne,
Benny said the world number 225 received special treatment
following her formidable performances in some challenger
tournaments in the United States.

"She has shown great progress. Moving up from 400s to 225 is
not an easy job," Benny said.

Wynne failed in her bid to debut in the U.S. Open main draw
after losing in the second round of the qualifying stage.

Liza will have to join the selection tournament after missing
some challenger tournaments due to a lack of sponsors. It has
dropped her ranking from the 400s to the 600s.

Benny dismissed speculation that the tennis body was favoring
Wynne. "It's not about favoritism but we're looking at reality."

The association also appointed Yayuk's coach and husband
Suharyadi to be the nonplaying captain for the Asiad.

Yayuk, who plans to retire after next year's Australian Open,
indicated on Tuesday she might concentrate on playing doubles in
the Asiad.

"I haven't played any singles matches since the U.S. Open late
last month," she said. Yayuk crashed in the second round of the
final grand slam tournament of the year and skipped the Princess
Cup in Tokyo last week.

Yayuk shared the mixed doubles gold medal with Suharyadi in
the 1990 Asiad in Beijing.

Yayuk and her Dutch partner Caroline Vis have qualified for
the US$2 million Chase Championships in Madison Square Garden,
New York, from Nov. 16 to Nov. 20. They are seeded eighth in the
season-ending tournament which is restricted to the world's top
12 women's singles and doubles.

Aside from the Chase, Yayuk will only play doubles with Vis in
the Porsche Grand Prix in Germany from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11, the
European Indoor Championships in Switzerland from Oct. 12 to Oct.
17 and the Advanta Championship in Philadelphia from Nov. 9 to
Nov. 15, before going to Bangkok. (yan)