Yayuk moves into quarters of Danamon tennis c'ships
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)