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)