Yayuk top seedings for Danamon Open
JAKARTA (JP): Five top Asian tennis players will be among the 100 women at the Danamon Indonesia Open tennis tournament next week at Senayan.
Yayuk Basuki of Indonesia, world ranked 26, is the top seed for the US$107,500 tournament from April 21 to April 27.
The 38th-ranked Wang Shi Ting of Chinese Taipei, 43rd-ranked Naoko Sawamatsu of Japan and 53rd-ranked Tamarine Tanasugarn of Thailand will be Yayuk's toughest opponents.
Yayuk reached last year's final which she forfeited, because of a fever, to Linda Wild of the United States.
Unfortunately, Wild has pulled out of this year's tournament because of injury.
Tournament director Eddy Katimansah said the WTA had replaced Wild in the main draw with Jane Chi of China, world ranked 125.
"I don't know why the WTA will send Chi but we can't ask for a higher ranked player," Eddy told The Jakarta Post yesterday.
Indonesia has two wild cards for the main draw and four for the qualifying rounds of the singles, and one for the main draw and another for the qualifying rounds of the doubles.
The Indonesian Tennis Association has nominated Liza Andriyani, world ranked 469, Mimma Chernovita and Marieke Gunawan, whose ranking are in the 600s, to take wild cards.
Eddy said, "The association will decide who will receive wild cards on Friday."
The decision will be based on the players' national rankings according to the association's National Team Board, and their commitment to increasing their WTA rankings.
"Liza failed to take part in the national selections in December because she had her own program to improve her world ranking. And she did that," Eddy said.
He said that Angelica Gavaldon of Mexico had asked for a wild card but she had since said she would be unavailable for the tournament.
Organizers will not charge spectators because they want a bigger turn out.
But Eddy said, "Even if the tournament is free, not many people will come to watch the tournament."
Sponsor Bank Danamon will give six color televisions and Primadana safes to spectators as door prizes.
Free tickets are available on the ground floor of Wisma Bank Danamon on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, or at the association's secretariat at the Senayan tennis complex. (yan)