Yayuk and Wild to clash in final
Yayuk and Wild to clash in final
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's Yayuk Basuki and her American
doubles team mate Linda Wild will have to put their friendship
out of mind when they meet in the US$164,250 Danamon Indonesia
Women's Open tennis championships final today.
Both Yayuk and Wild survived draining semifinals yesterday,
and later decided to forfeit their doubles semifinals after Yayuk
complained of flu. The mixed-nationality pair were scheduled to
play the Belgian pair of Laurence Courtois and Nancy Feber in the
late match.
Fifth seed Wild clawed her way back from a first-set down to
overcome giant-killer Naoko Kijimuta of Japan 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in a
semifinal delayed by rain. It took third seed Yayuk three hours
in the other thriller of the day to beat a feisty Courtois 7-6
(7-5), 5-7, 7-5.
It will be Yayuk's first final appearance in the past two
years which saw her world ranking slip from 21st to 42nd place. A
victory will not only earn Yayuk the winners' check worth
$29,000, but a considerable hike to her ranking.
Playing before exuberant crowds in Senayan tennis stadium,
Yayuk shrugged off her flu to blast out her explosive serves and
pour down her characteristic forehands on her opponent.
The match quickly turned into a power play as Courtois replied
in a contest which served also as a trial for the Federation Cup
battle between them at the end of this month.
The bruising match looked square, with the two baseliners
playing tight service games highlighted by long rallies. The
match was marred by numerous bad calls, however.
Yayuk saved a crucial game in the deciding set with two aces
in a row to pulled a level at 5-5. But Courtois had already come
to an ebb in her energy when she fired a double fault that let
Yayuk take command.
"I knew I was not fit enough, but I battled it out because the
most important thing is to win," Yayuk said after the match.
"There were some moments, however, when I had to take risks."
Meanwhile, world number 49 Wild, who lost 5-7 in the first
set, had no trouble overcoming Kijimuta in the second and third
set, thanks in part to unforced errors produced by the Japanese
who upset top seed Sabine Appelmans in Friday's quarterfinals.
Leading 4-3 in the final set, Wild was troubled by some bad
calls from the linesmen. Wild, who was under strain in the tense
semifinal, screamed at the guilty parties, but quickly regrouped
for the finishing touch.
Wild wrapped up the deciding set when Kijimuta shot a big
forehand wide.
"Naoko played very well and I had to work hard to beat her,"
Wild said, magnanimously. (05)