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)