Indons sweep RP lady netters in team event

The Philippine tennis team was off to a woeful start in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games with its much-hyped ladies squad clobbered and ousted right in its initial match at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

The RP lady netters fell on their knees versus the Indonesians, 0-3, yielding the duel right after the singles matches swept by the visiting side.

Romana Tedjukusuma overpowered Czarina Mae Arevalo, 6-1, 3-6, then Wynee Prakusia outclassed Riza Angela Zalameda, 6-1, 6-1, in the singles, rendering the doubles a non-bearing match.

But Indonesia still went for a sweep with Tedjakusuma and Prakusia walloping Zalameda and Denise Dy, 6-3, 6-4.

Arevalo, an Ateneo student who’s the country’s top homegrown player, gave up the first two games and was easily disposed of by Tedjukusuma after suffering a sprain right ankle in the third game of the opening set with the count tied at 30-all.

Worse was Zalameda who was bundled out by Prakusia in just 50 minutes.

"It’s a bad day for me," said Zalameda. "I tried to adjust but it didn’t work."

Prakusia is the same Indon girl beaten by Maricris Fernandez for the women’s singles gold medal in the 1999 Brunei Games. That’s the last tennis championship won by the Philippines in the biennial games.

The Indon lasses advanced to the gold-medal match while the Filipinas consoled themselves with the bronze. The RP team was actually assured of the bronze even before the match, having drawn first-round bye.

"The experience of the Indonesian players showed in today’s games. Although our team played well, continuous exposure to top level play would definitely help in their development," said RP team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier.

Vietnam set up the other semifinal match with Thailand as it whipped Myanmar, 3-0, in the day’s other women’s team contest.

The Vietnamese also booted out their Myanmar rivals right in the singles matches with Hyunh Mai Huynh repulsing Amy Tun, 7-5, 6-1, then Viet-Ha Ngo waylaying Chit Su Yee, 6-4, 6-2. Huynh and Tnuy Dung Nguyen swamped Su Wai Phyo and Kyi Mya Zaw, 6-2, 6-2, to complete the sweep.

In the men’s side, defending champion Thailand stamped its class on lowly Myanmar, 3-0, to arrange an interesting semifinal tiff with the top-seeded RP squad which boasts of veteran ATP Fil-Am campaigners Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino.

Mamiit faces world No. 129 Danai Udomchoke while Taino battles Weerapat Doakmaiklee in the singles. Mamiit and Taino then team up in the doubles against twin brothers Sanchai and Sonchai Ratiwatana, ranked 129th in the world.