Yayuk flops but Indonesia wins tennis gold
Yayuk flops but Indonesia wins tennis gold
By Dwiatmanta
CHIANG MAI, Thailand (JP): Indonesian world-number-24 Yayuk Basuki suffered her biggest loss ever, though her team was able to extinguish Thailand's fire and take the tennis gold at the 18th Southeast Asian Games here yesterday.
Yayuk, missing from action for two-and-a-half months due to a back injury, looked like a beginner in the second singles in her 2-6, 1-6 rout by Thailand's new heroine Tammarin Tanasugarn.
Tammarin's upset win helped Thailand level the tie after its first singles Suvimal Duangchan gave up to Romana Tedjakusuma 1- 6, 1-6 in a one-sided match.
The Thai doubles of Tammarin and Suvimal scared Indonesia's Asian Championships winning team of Yayuk and Romana in the deciding doubles match. Going one set down and trailing 2-4 in the second set, the spirited Thais fought back to force a decider. It was experience that overcame the Thai attacking game in the third set as Yayuk and Romana breezed through for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win.
Indonesia has had a tradition of winning the women's tennis team gold medal since 1977, but the final yesterday was the toughest challenge Indonesia has ever faced.
"I was struggling to regain my confidence when Tammarin pounded me. It was difficult for me to do that after being absent in a singles match for more than two months," a smiling Yayuk said after the decisive win.
Yayuk had troubles with her first serve in the prestigious match against Wimbledon junior runner-up Tammarin, who played flawless tennis yesterday.
Brimming with confidence, Tammarin chased every return and watched a frustrated Yayuk rack up a host of unnecessary mistakes. Tammarin broke Yayuk twice in each set, thanks to her consistent strokes.
"I'm not in my best shape for the SEA Games. That's why I dropped my plan to play in the individual singles," Yayuk said. With Yayuk missing from the women's singles list, Tammarin will top the seed and is expected to meet Romana in the final. The individual competitions started yesterday.
Yayuk will only play in the women's doubles and mixed doubles, the divisions she won in the Asian Championships in Manila early this month.
Fighting back
The Indonesian team should have sealed Thailand's fate when Yayuk and Romana moved ahead 4-2 in the second set of the deciding rubber. Playing before their flag waving and cheering fans, Tammarin fought back.
Tammarin, who jumped into the world top 200 from 400 this year, approached the net for a number of volley winners. The Thai doubles handed the Indonesians two successive breaks to take control of the set.
Yayuk and Romana regained their old form in the third set as the Thais ran out of steam from a series of exhausting rallies. They quickly raced to a 4-0 lead, before Suvimol saved her game.
Holding the serve, Tammarin netted a volley for a crucial match point for Indonesia. Romana landed her final smash to seal the heart-breaking match.
An incident marred the medal presentation ceremony when Indonesia's red and white flag was hoisted upside down. Indonesian supporters insisted on a repeat of the flag raising procession. The flag went up for a second time, but without Indonesia's national anthem.
Thailand won a consolation later in the afternoon when its men's team downed defending champion Philippines 2-1 for the gold. The Thais produced the biggest upset on Monday when they routed Indonesia 3-0 in the semifinals.