Wynne Prakusya advances to second round

Wynne Prakusya advances to second round

Pariama Hutasoit, Contributor, Nusa Dua, Bali

Wynne Prakusya gracefully moved on to the second round of the
Wismilak-Sanex Women's Tennis Tournament after defeating Spaniard
Gala Leon Garcia 7-5, 6-3 here on Tuesday.

Playing at the Grand Hyatt center court in Nusa Dua, Wynne won
enthusiastic support from the spectators. She confidently led the
two sets, despite many long and difficult rallies.

In the first set, Garcia lodged a strong protest against one
of the referee's decisions, which, she claimed, was mistakenly in
Wynne's favor. Garcia was leading by five points when she thought
Wynne's return was out.

Unaffected by the protest, Wynne calmly continued and won the
set 7-5.

Wynne was unstoppable in the second set, winning it 6-3.

At a media conference after the match, Wynne said she felt
happy to beat Garcia. Commenting on Garcia's protest, Wynne only
responded that the Spanish player might have lost her
concentration.

"It's usual when one plays abroad. I've often experienced
that," she said.

On Wednesday, Wynne, ranked 102nd in the world, will meet
Conchita Martinez from Spain, now ranked 55th.

"I've never played against Martinez, but I will certainly play
as well as possible. She was the runner-up in 1994 at Wimbledon,"
Wynne added.

Indonesia's rising star Angelique "Angie" Widjaja, however,
failed to appear on Tuesday. Her scheduled match against Spaniard
Marta Morrero was inexplicably postponed until Wednesday.

In earlier matches on Tuesday, Virginie Razzano of France
defeated Argentinean Clarisa Fernandez in straight sets.

Third-seed Fernandez was not on top form, losing 6-3, 6-3 to
Razzano. Fernandez, ranked 33rd, was unseeded in this year's
French Open and U.S. Open, but managed to reach the semifinals of
both events.

Russia's rising star, 15-year-old Maria Kirilenko, who won the
U.S. Open Junior Championship 2002 earlier this month,
surrendered to 29-year-old Nicole Pratt of Australia.

Pratt is a veteran tennis player who won a number of junior
championships when she was still a teenager. In l991, Pratt won
the singles at the Australia Open, and doubles at the U.S. Open
and French Open.

Her comeback this year was quite encouraging, reaching the
semifinals of two world tennis tournaments in Hobart, Australia,
and Birmingham in England. She also reached the quarterfinals in
Doha, Qatar, and Scottsdale in the U.S.

"Kirilenko is a talented and powerful player. Although she is
very young she has a lot of self-confidence," praised Pratt.

After a relatively easy win in the first set, Pratt found it
quite difficult to beat Kirilenko in the second when she led 3-0.
But Kirilenko steadily returned Pratt's strong and accurate shots
and aggressively chased her returns to every corner of the court
until she had won four points.

But Pratt cleverly changed her strategy and closed out the
match 6-2, 6-4.

"She has impressed me so much. Kirilenko really has a good
future," Pratt said magnanimously of her Russian opponent.

On Wednesday, Pratt will meet the winner of the Angelique-
Morrero match.