Timy and Devota survive first round at Bali Open

Timy and Devota survive first round at Bali Open

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Sanur, Bali

Indonesians Ni Putu Timy Yudhani and Devota Rahawarin survived
the opening round of the Bali Open beach volleyball tournament on
Thursday, while the top-seeded Brazilian duo eased their way into
the next round.

Timy and Devota lost their opening match against the Austrian
pair of Barbara Hansel and Chrisi Gschweidl in three games, 21-
17, 12-21, 15-12, before eking out a two-game win over the
Norwegians Nila Han Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen 23-21, 21-19 in
their second match at the US$200,000 tournament, which has a
double-elimination format.

"We did our best today ... we know their level of play is
above us," Timy said about the match. "They played fast balls
with strong spikes, but we slowed the play down and minimized our
mistakes."

Another home pair, Iim Mukadimah and Ike Prasetyowati, crashed
out of the tournament, losing their two matches on Thursday. The
Indonesians were defeated 21-13, 21-8 by Simon Kuhn and Lea
Schwer of Switzerland, and 21-13, 21-13 by Erika Nystrom and
Emilia Nystrom of Finland.

The top two seeds in the tournament, Brazil's Renata Riberio
and Talita Antunes, and Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede won both
their matches on the opening day of play in the main draw.

However, the third seeds Rebekka Kadijk and Merel Mooren of
Netherlands lost their second match, forcing them into the
losers' bracket.

Riberio and Antunes easily beat Thai qualifiers Usa Tenpaksee
and Yupa Puklongpoy 21-17, 21-13 in their first match, while
Behar and Bede topped Thailand's top pair Kamoltif Kulna and
Jarunee Sannok 21-7, 17-21, 15-10.

The two top seeds carried on their winning form with Ribeiro
and Antunes beating Sara Montagnoli and Sabine Swoboda of Austria
21-13, 21-16, while Behar and Bede defeated Perrotta and Lunardi
of Italy 21-19, 21-12.

Kadijk and Merel, who scored an opening 21-15, 16-21, 15-13
win over the Czech Republic duo Hana Klapalova-Tereza Petrova,
fell to Hamzaoui and Barrera of France 21-16, 21-15 in their
second match.

While the tournament, part of the beach volleyball 2005 World
Tour, features world-class players, the biggest draw for fans
were the matches featuring homegrown players.

Timy and Devota, who along with Iim and Ike are preparing for
the upcoming Southeast Asian Games in Manila, faced a very
difficult opponent in their second match against the Norwegian
pair, but were able to battle back for the crucial win.

But Iim and Ike looked very much outclassed in their two
matches.

"Their physical builds, their technique are really above
ours," Iim said. "We were not nervous. We were simply beaten by
their better volleyball technique."

Timy put it down to a lack of international tournaments.

"We lack experience and confidence against them. They seem
very professional and can easily adapt to any circumstances,"
Timy said.

"But I am very satisfied with our play today. We played good
volleyball and were able to give them a hard time during the
match."