Yayuk moves into quarters of Danamon tennis c'ships
JAKARTA (JP): Unrated players continued their assault on their more famous opponents in the US$164,250 Danamon Indonesia Women's Open tennis championships yesterday, claiming three more major victims after bruising second-round matches.
Fourth seed Marianne Werdel Witmeyer of the United States slipped to a 3-6, 4-6 defeat to Rika Hiraki of Japan, sixth seed Karin Kschwendt of Germany suffered a 2-6, 3-6 rout by compatriot Claudia Porwik, and American eighth seed Ann Grossman went belly- up 4-6, 5-7 to Naoko Kijimuta of Japan.
Four seeded players survived, but only Indonesia's Yayuk Basuki reached the quarterfinals in anything resembling style. The third seed played her best tennis to eliminate Maria Vento of Venezuela 6-3, 6-0, setting up a quarterfinal match against Porwik today.
Belgian top seed Sabine Appelmans, fifth seed Linda Wild of the United States and seventh seed Laurence Courtoise of Belgium labored before claiming three-set wins.
Porwik, who entered the main draw as a lucky loser after Henreita Nagyova of Slovakia failed to turn up for the tournament, will qualify for the French Open in June after reaching the quarterfinal here.
"Porwik is an aggressive player. Actually we have the same style. But she's very smart and has more experience than I," Yayuk said of Porwik, whom she beat in Hilton Head last week and the Malaysian Open three years ago.
Porwik, who pulled out of tennis for a year following a stomach muscle injury in October 1993, promised a tough challenge in her third meeting with home favorite Yayuk.
"I know that Yayuk is favored because she's playing in her hometown. But I've got nothing to lose. I'll fight and I hope to do well," Porwik said.
Appelmans struggled all the way to hold off persistent challenges from Jana Nejedly of Canada, needing two hours to claim a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in a match which saw both players swap broken serves throughout the match.
It took world number 21 Appelmans, who looked troubled with her serves throughout the match, until late in the second set to find her grip after going one set down.
A lethargic-looking Appelmans appeared to give away the match to her world number 119 opponent when she double faulted three times in a row for a break early in the second set. The Belgian number one tallied nine double faults during the match, compared to Nejedly's four.
"She hit the ball very hard, very deep, and ran very well. I was a little bit angry at myself and should have stayed calm in the game, specially in this heat," said Appelmans, who will now play Kijimuta for a semifinal berth.
At 3-4 down, left-handed Appelmans started an energy-saving play, varying her powerful cross-court forehands with a number of overhead lobs and drop shots that wore out Nejedly's patience. The Canadian dropped her game for a 4-4 draw and continued an error-ridden game with a crucial double fault to hand Appelmans the second set.
The deciding set was not so easy for Appelmans despite her commanding 4-1 lead. Nejedly fought back tremendously, firing home deep cross-court forehands to break Appelmans.
Appelmans nearly gave it all away when a double fault cost her a game while serving for the match at 5-3. But Nejedly failed to maintain her nerve, pouring wide forehands onto the court to let Appelmans take command. (05/amd)