Wukirasih leads seeded pack to Cigna second round
Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Wukirasih Sawondari eased past Irawati Moerid as all the top women's singles seeds advanced to the second round of the Rp 60 million (US$5,850) Cigna Open at the Hilton Executive Club Hardcourts here on Tuesday.
The opening round matches started almost three hours late due to rain.
Wukirasih, top seed in the tournament, lost four games in her 6-3, 6-1 win over former national player Irawati in fifty minutes on the center court.
Wukir was dealt an early fright, albeit momentary, when she had her serve broken in the third game. But she got revenge in the fourth and eighth games.
The second set became a one-woman show as the 22-year-old Wukir outplayed her senior throughout. She won five consecutive games, during which her opponent looked to be losing her stamina.
Wukir conceded one game before wrapping up the match.
"After stuttering early, I tried to change course by relaxing. And it seemed that I got the pace," she told The Jakarta Post after the match.
"Her long ball far to the back was lame. She forced herself toward the net with her ball but I could stall her," said Wukir, the gold medalist in the 1997 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games at the expense of Tammarine Tanasugarn of Thailand.
Irawati did not look like one of the pair that won a double gold in the Surabaya 2000 National Games (PON), a testament, no doubt, to her getting older.
She seemed frustrated not only by Wukir's play but also the referee's decisions.
"Damn it, I was cheated around six times, all in decisive points. Wukir played well anyway," she said when interviewed separately.
She vented her frustration by not shaking the referee's hand at the end of the match.
The other seeds who roundly defeated their opponents were Liza, second seed Andriani, third Eny Sulistiowati, fourth Dian Anggraini, fifth Mudarwati, sixth Suci Bungaran, seventh Novianti Warsono and eighth Septi Mende.
Liza and Eny taught their junior opponents lessons in tennis, with both registering 6-0, 6-1 victories over Golda Rubina and Nancy Metriya respectively.
Dian also gave away only one game to edge out Meritus Fitri Gani, 6-1, 6-0.
In the men's category, the opening matches were completed on the same day although the top seeds will not start their campaigns until Wednesday.
Top seed Suwandi, who has just returned from an unsuccessful tour of New Zealand in a Davis Cup match, will take on Johan Samamwi, a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Fachri Syahputra.
Other Davis Cup players taking part in the tournament are doubles specialists Febi Widhiyanto and Hendri Susilo Pramono, who are each going to try their luck in the singles here as well.
The tournament also sees a comeback by national veteran Yustedjo Tarik, who is seeded last of the top 16.
Yustedjo, who won a gold medal in the 1982 Asian Games in New Delhi, faces Eko Kurniawan, who beat Wisnu Wijaya 7-5, 6-3 in the opening round.