Yayuk leaves for Wimbledon meet
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's number one women's tennis player Yayuk Basuki left here yesterday for the Volkswagen Championships in Eastborne, the warm-up for the prestigious Wimbledon grand slam tournament.
Fresh from a four-week break after winning her third successive Indonesia Open title, the 24-year-old player will be making a fourth visit to Wimbledon, the only grand slam event which gave her memorable career results.
That competition will be played on grass, her favored court terrain.
Yayuk, whose 157.7km/h forehand shot is rated among the world's fastest, has in the last two years produced a giant- killing run on her way to reaching the fourth round of the most prestigious tennis competition.
Yayuk upset 10th seed Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria last year and toppled 10th seed Anke Huber of Germany the year before that. Yayuk was close to making it through the last eight rounds last year, only to fall to Spanish sixth seed Conchita Martinez.
The Indonesian, currently world number 44, said she would bank on her lucky draw to repeat her feat at Wimbledon.
The June 20 - July 3 event will also see Yayuk play doubles with her Japanese partner Nana Miyagi. The pair haven't taken any other doubles titles since they bagged two international straight victories in the Sapporo Ladies Open in Japan and the Taiwan Women's Open in Taipei last October.
They capped their two-year partnership by reaching the quarterfinals of last year's U.S Open.
Coach Suharyadi, whom became Yayuk's husband on Valentine's Day last February, will accompany Yayuk in her European and American tour. He said his player had improved her performance during the break.
The four month outing long will also serve as Yayuk's testing ground before she engages on her Asian Games tourney in October. Yayuk may play both singles and mixed doubles in the 12th Asiad in Hiroshima, Japan.
She teamed up with Suzanna Anggarkusuma in the women's doubles and with Suharyadi in the mixed doubles to win two golds in the last Asian Games. (amd)