Winner Rittner wants to travel back to Bali
Winner Rittner wants to travel back to Bali
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The last time Barbara Rittner was in Indonesia she visited Bali,
and left with a ring on her finger after getting married to her
husband Mike.
Three years later she is back again, this time in Jakarta, and
will be leaving with pride after her success in contributing two
points in Germany's 3-2 victory over Indonesia in the playoff of
the Fed Cup.
The win keeps the team in the World Group and means they will
not have to be involved in another bout of playoffs next year.
"It's great. I'm happy because there has been a lot of
pressure for us to stay in the World Group," the 30-year-old told
The Jakarta Post after her 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Wynne
Prakusya on Sunday.
On Saturday, she defeated Angelique Widjaja 6-4, 6-1.
Despite her injury problems during her game with Wynne,
Rittner said she was physically fit and experienced enough for
the competition after turning pro 14 years ago.
"It's the real key to winning my games," she said.
She sustained the injuries on both of her two ankles three
years ago and had undergone surgery twice.
Although it proved to have little affect on her performance
against Wynne, the injuries will prevent her from competing in
matches in Austria.
"I'm not going to play until the Poland match in ten days,"
said the player, now ranked 89th in the Women Tennis Association
(WTA) rankings.
Despite her age, Rittner still has an ambition to reach high
in the tennis world.
"I can still remain in the top 100. I still have motivation.
It may be fiftieth," she said about her aspirations.
On her role with Germany's Fed Cup team, Rittner said while
she had the dream of bringing the team to the semifinals next
year, she was already content with the team simply staying in
where it belongs.
"I want to push Germany for a place in the semifinals. But for
now, we are glad with what the team has achieved," she said.
During her brief spell in Indonesia, she said she was too
focused on training ahead of the matches that she did not have
time to travel.
"I wish I could go back to Bali. It's nice there. Maybe next
time," she said.