Uzbekistan beats RI 3-2 in Davis Cup tie
Uzbekistan beats RI 3-2 in Davis Cup tie
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia bowed out 2-3 to visitor Uzbekistan
before a home crowd at the Kemayoran Tennis Center, Central
Jakarta, Sunday during the final day of the three-day Davis Cup
Group I Asia Oceania zone tie.
Indonesia's top male singles player Suwandi surprisingly
ousted Uzbekistan no. 1 player Vadim Kutsenko 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 7-
5 in a very tight match to equal the score 2-2.
In the do-or-die second singles, Andrian Raturandang was short
of preparation and was easily tamed by Oleg Ogorodov 3-6, 1-6, 4-
6 in the one-hour-and-30 minute match.
Indonesia was down 0-2 on Friday's singles matches but the
doubles bounced back on Saturday to narrow the lead 1-2.
Indonesia will face South Korea from April 6 to April 8. While
Uzbekistan will challenge New Zealand for a promotion to the
World Group qualifying round. South Korea lost to New Zealand 2-3
on Sunday.
Andrian said in a post-match conference that he was under
constant pressure from Ogorodov who gave him little opportunity
to develop his own strategy.
"I was not nervous but I was outclassed. I could win three
games in the first set but Ogorodov put me under pressure from
the very beginning. He was also very tough, he chased the ball
even if it was nearly out of reach."
Indonesian non-playing captain Tintus Arianto Wibowo admitted
that Andrian was not well-prepared.
The 24-year-old player replaced Hendri Susilo Pramono just a
week away from the tie and only practiced for five days.
Hendri withdrew in protest to alleged bad treatment he
received from an Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) official
in charge of athletes development Sudjiono Timan.
Tintus also said the team would not search for a scapegoat for
the defeat.
"We don't want to blame anybody. The whole team is responsible
for winning or losing."
However, Tintus pointed his finger at his players' low world
rankings.
As of Jan. 29, Suwandi ranks 423 in the world, Andrian and
Bonit Wiryawan are 1023th while Sulistyo Wibowo has no singles
rank.
On the contrary, Kutsenko is the world no. 205, Ogorodov 226,
Dmitriy Tomashevic 355 and Dmitriy Mazur 490.
"We don't belong to the same class as the Uzbeks. We have to
improve our world ranking if we want to improve our position in
the group.
"We don't want to give up to Uzbekistan, we want to win
because we are the host. But this is the final result. We should
make some self-improvement."
Kutsenko said he lost to Suwandi because he was very nervous
in the most decisive match to his team.
"It was a very important match. If I won, it would finish the
tournament. So I was very nervous and the atmosphere didn't
support me. I really wasn't ready to play."
Suwandi said: "I had promised yesterday (Saturday) to
contribute one point for the team and I managed to keep my word."
The first match had to be delayed for more than an hour due to
a heavy downpour of rain.
In Seoul, Lee Hyung-taik of South Korea beat Mark Nielsen of
New Zealand 6-0, 6-1, 7-6 on Seoul's Olympic Park indoor court,
AP reported. In the following match, Alistair Hunt of New Zealand
beat Baek Seung-bok of South Korea 6-2, 6-7, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4.
In Langfan City, China, India completed a 3-2 victory over
China in another group one first round tie. During the reverse
singles, Chinese Zhang Yu lost to Leander Paes 0-6, 2-6, 3-6, but
Yang Jing-zhu Yang beat Fazaluddin Syed 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-4.
India led 2-1 after its top doubles Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi
beat Xu Ran and Yang 6-2, 6-4, 6-4. On Friday, Chinese Wang Yu
lost to Paes 6-4, 0-6, 0-6, 4-6 and Zhang beat Syed 6-4, 6-1, 6-
0, according to Reuters. (ivy)