Top players unfazed in national tennis tourney

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As the seeds proceeded with little fuss to their allotted places in the Hemaviton Challenge 2005 on Thursday, the first major tussles are expected in Friday's quarterfinals.

Top men's seed Prima Simpatiaji of Central Java, second seed Suwandi of West Java, third seed Febi Widianto and fourth seed Sunu Wahyu reached the last eight without losing a set.

Prima dismissed Enrico Satria of Central Java 6-1, 6-2 in 54 minutes, Suwandi defeated Andery Setyawanto of East Java 6-1, 6- 2, Febi walloped Edy Kusdaryanto of Central Java 6-1, 6-1 and Sunu posted 6-3, 6-3 win over Aditya Danurwendo of Central Java.

Lanky Prima completely controlled the match with his strong serve and deadly forehand.

"I am in good form, but I am still weak on the volley. I hope I will improve day by day," Prima said.

"Tomorrow (Friday), it will be a difficult match for me as my opponent, Sebastian Da Costa of West Nusa Tenggara, is a very energetic player."

If all goes according to seeding, Prima is expected to meet Febi in the semifinals, while Suwandi will meet Sunu.

Febi must tackle the challenge of veteran Sulistyo Wibowo of West Java in his quarterfinal, while Suwandi plays Hendri Soesilo and Sunu meets Dadang AR of South Kalimantan.

Ninth seed Hendri caused a minor upset on Thursday as he defeated fifth seeded Bonit Wiryawan of East Java, a 37-year-old veteran, 6-4, 6-3.

In the women's division, top seeded Ayu Fani Damayanti of Jakarta, who trounced Dede Tari Kusrini of Aceh 6-0, 6-1 in the second round, received a walkover on Friday as over Lutfiana Aris B of Central Java will have to leave for a junior tournament in Uzbekistan.

Second seeded Septi Mende of Jakarta suffered a letdown after racing through the first set but recovered to beat Komang Sri Maryati of Bali 6-0, 4-6, 6-1.

Third seed Liza Andryani of West Java also advanced to the quarterfinals by blanking Dian Anggraini of East Kalimantan 6-0, 6-0, while fourth seed Wukirasih Sawondari of Jakarta overcame the challenge of Sany Harsono of Yogyakarta 6-1, 6-1.