Yayuk Basuki rejoins world top 30

Yayuk Basuki rejoins world top 30

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's tennis queen Yayuk Basuki shot to
number 25 from 33 on the latest singles rankings issued by the
Women's Tennis Association prior to the U.S. Open championships
in New York.

It was Yayuk's second highest career ranking as she came
closer to joining the world's top 20 at number 21 early this
year.

As of Aug. 26, Yayuk has played 29 matches and won 19 of them.
She produced a seven-place leap following a series of giant wins
she chalked up in the past month.

Her notable scalps include victories over American world
number nine Lindsay Davenport and number 13 Nathalie Tauziat of
France on her way to the Acura Classic semifinals in Manhattan
Beach. She also made her fourth successive appearance in the
fourth round at Wimbledon.

Despite the formidable performance, Yayuk has spent more than
half of the season without any title. She reached her only two
semifinals at the Indonesia Open and the Acura Classic.

Yayuk is now more than 300 places clear of her closest
national contender Romana Tedjakusuma who is only 355th.

WTA put German Steffi Graf atop of the list, followed by
returning Monica Seles of the U.S. Seles, who won her first title
after a two-year lay off at the Canadian Open, pushed Arantxa
Sanchez Vicario of Spain to third.

Yayuk is facing a tough first rounder at the U.S. Open against
German world number 10 Anke Huber. The two players have met three
times, with Huber leading 2-1 after her victory in the Australian
Open in January.

Yayuk carries an unsound record at the U.S. Open, the last
Grand Slam tournament of the season. She flopped in the first
hurdle in her two previous appearances at the Flushing Meadow
tennis center. She last crashed to minnow Mariaan de Swardt of
South Africa in straight sets 3-6, 4-6. (amd)