Top seed eases into next round of tennis tourney
Top seed eases into next round of tennis tourney
JAKARTA (JP): Top seed and defending champion Paul Haarhuis of the Netherlands encountered no trouble making it to the second round of the Indosiar Men's Open tennis championships here yesterday, dispatching Kris Goosens of Belgium 6-2, 6-1.
Haarhuis, who has risen to his career-high ranking of 19, enjoyed a warm-up which lasted an hour and 10 minutes against 91st-ranked Goosens.
"I never thought it would be that easy," Haarhuis told reporters after the match. "I played very well today, but unfortunately he (Goosens) made many mistakes so the match went very quickly."
The title holder made Goosens run non-stop, pinning him on his back court to go smoothly to a commanding 5-1 lead. Holding his serve, the Belgian survived a game point twice before his blasting ace earned him his second game of the set.
Goosens was forced to struggle harder in the second set which saw Haarhuis increase the pressure. The Belgian saved his game following a brave approach to the net, but only after Haarhuis had pulled ahead to 4-0.
Haarhuis sealed the match with another break, thanks in part to a series of unforced errors made by Goosens. The Dutchman will now meet Chris Wilkinson of Britain in the second round.
Haarhuis' compatriot and doubles partner Jacco Eltingh also lost only three games in his opening match against Frederic Vitoux of France.
The latest singles match, Morrocan Younes El Aynaoui put his close friendship aside to beat compatriot Karim Alami in a frenetic duel between two giantkillers.
El Aynaoui beat Austrian world number three Thomas Muster in the Qatar Open semifinal in Doha last week, while Alami scored his biggest win in the same event last year by beating world number one Pete Sampras.
El Aynaoui, fresh from his first final appearance at the Qatar Open last week, battled it out for a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 win.
An overseas invasion might describe Indonesia's first-round flop at the annual tournament yesterday, serving as a warning prior to the Davis Cup clash against South Korea next month.
National number one Sulistyo Wibowo, a late wildcard recipient who replaced Ronald Agenor of Haiti, threw away his flawless start and lost 6-3, 3-6, 0-6 to Herbert Wiltschnig of Austria.
In the following match, Andrian Raturandang forced his Briton opponent Wilkinson to flex his muscle in the second set before losing 2-6, 4-6.
Suwandi, Indonesia's strongest contender for the Davis Cup team, wasted eight match points in his 6-2, 6-7 (9-11), 5-7 loss to Mauricio Hadad of Colombia on Monday. Another Davis Cupper, Eddy Kusdaryanto, was edged out in the qualifying round opener.
National coach Deddy Prasetyo quickly grasped what his boys need to do to avoid a Davis Cup nightmare at home. "I worry about their low standard of fitness. My players need a qualified physical coach to improve their endurance," said Deddy, who is also a consultant to the national team.
Indonesia will host South Korea in the Asia Oceania Zone Davis Cup duel from Feb. 9 to 11, when two national team members will be fasting for the Moslem fasting month of Ramadhan.
Sulistyo's performance was a carbon copy of his teammate Suwandi's game on Monday. The hard serving Indonesian engaged in a power play in the first set, but lacked the energy to fuel his new charges.
Smarting from a first set down, the Austrian qualifier steered the match from his baseline with his consistent strokes while waiting for Sulistyo to drill unnecessary mistakes. (05)