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.