Yayuk leaves for Wimbledon meet

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)