Yayuk ousted in Beijing quarters

Yayuk ousted in Beijing quarters

JAKARTA (JP): Top seed and defending champion Yayuk Basuki of
Indonesia could not survive a wild game, crashing out of the
Nokia Open quarterfinals in Beijing yesterday.

The Indonesian world number 25 produced a superb fight-back
after a first-set blanking, but it was not enough to overcome a
high-spirited Linda Wild, who won the match 6-0, 7-5.

A self-confident Wild took charge with her consistent serves
and thumping ground strokes, pinning Yayuk on her baseline
throughout the match. To make matters worse, Yayuk drilled
belting unforced errors into the power play.

"It was a disappointing game. I had not even found my feet on
the court when she shocked me with her strokes," Yayuk told
Antara after the match, which lasted one-and-a-half hours.

"We cannot always develop a game as planned. There is time to
lose," Yayuk said.

Despite her natural talent, Yayuk carried has had an erratic
record this season. She has not won any title this year but
sprang many surprises by upsetting opponents ranked among the
world's top 10.

Wild, who triumphed in Nagoya last week, is ranked 64 places
below Yayuk. "You cannot judge someone's standard by simply
looking at her ranking. Linda and I are equals," Yayuk said of
her rival, whom she had never met before.

Wild dropped her ranking sharply last year after her defeat in
Eastbourne, a traditional warm-up tournament for Wimbledon.

Yayuk, however, won a consolation in the doubles. Partnering
Karin Kschwendt of Germany, Yayuk beat American pair Stephanie
Reece and Danielle Scott 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the
quarterfinals.

The Indonesian women's singles number one looks certain to
lose considerable ranking points due to her upset loss in
Beijing. She earlier refused a wild-card entry to play in
Surabaya, East Java, saying that she risked losing big points if
she failed to win the title there. (amd)