Yayuk top seedings for Danamon Open

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)