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Post by Brinyi on Nov 24, 2005 10:49:06 GMT -5
Mamiit boosts RP bid in tennis By JEAN MALANUM
Fil-American Cecil Mamiit yesterday expressed optimism in winning medals for the country when he debuts in the forthcoming Southeast Asian Games tennis competition.
Currently ranked No. 211 in the world, the Los Angeles-born Mamiit is spearheading the RP men's team composed of fellow Fil-American Frederick (huh?) Taino and locals Patrick John Tierro and Johnny Arcilla.
''I think we have a good chance. Everyone in the team is determined to win,'' said Mamiit, who joined the team practice at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday. He arrived Tuesday night from California.
Mamiit's long-time doubles partner, the New Jersey-born Taino, was scheduled to arrive yesterday afternoon. The 28-year-old Taino, whose father is a from Quezon and his mother from Bulacan, is ranked No. 241 in the world.
''I feel honored to play for the Philippines. This is a great experience for me. I'll do my best in the SEA Games,'' said the 5-foot-8 Mamiit, whose father hails from Alaminos, Laguna and mother from Sariaya, Quezon.
The two Fil-Americans were invited by the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) to boost the country's bid for the overall title in the SEA Games. They won the Ho Chi Minh event last March.
Two other Fil-Americans namely Riza Angela Zalameda, ranked No. 860 in the world, and Denise Dy have been tapped to beef up the RP women's team of Anja Vanessa Peter and Czarina Mae Arevalo. Zalameda recently won the singles and doubles (with Dy) titles in the second leg of the Holcim ITF Philippine Women's Circuit while Dy won the singles (first leg) and doubles (two legs) in the ITF Juniors Circuit last September in Pasig City.
(No Osterloh then...) But winning the overall title will be a herculean task for the Filipino netters with Thailand and Indonesia also keen on defending the golds they won in Vietnam two years ago.
Thailand got four golds from the men's singles (Danai Udomchoke), men's doubles (Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana), ladies singles (Suchanan Viratprasert) and men's team events while Indonesia won the women's doubles (Wynne Adiati Prakusya and Maya Rosa), mixed doubles (Prakusya and Suwandi) and women's team events.
Unfortunately for the Philippines, all six players are here to defend their titles.
The world's No. 129 Undomchoke, who won three titles this year, and Viratprasert, ranked No. 192, will be the top seed in their respective divisions.
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Post by freudo on Nov 24, 2005 13:23:55 GMT -5
is that to conflict again with regularly scheduled atp and wta tournaments?
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 24, 2005 14:22:29 GMT -5
Not really, since none of these players are in the Davis Cup final. It's starting in a day or two, I think.
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Post by TennisHack on Nov 24, 2005 15:48:05 GMT -5
Another perspective on it: Mamiit gives RP tennis big edgeBy Peter Atencio www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=sports02_nov24_2005CECIL Mamiit broke some of the strings of the racquets he brought along when he finally showed up for morning practice at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. His teammates PJ Tierro and Johnny Arcilla showed their excitement in hitting a few balls with him, a few hours after he arrived from Los Angeles the past night. Signs of jetlag were not evident on Mamiit’s face. Donning the white shirt provided by the national team’s sponsor, Jean Henri Lhuillier, he seemed to have enough energy to practice for the whole day. “I’ve always wanted to come back, and that would have been sometime later down the road. My parents are Filipino and I was in a culture of being around Filipinos,” said the 29-year-old Mamiit, who was hardly bothered by the midmorning heat. With members of the Indonesian team doing their thing nearby and their assistant chef de missions watching from the bleachers, Mamiit added that playing for the Philippines was something he had always wanted to do since his family migrated in the United States in 1982. His father Cesar is from Alaminos, Laguna, while his mom, Feliza, hails from Sariaya, Quezon. Mamiit, whose current ranking is now no. 211 in the world, is no longer bracing for a showdown with Southeast Asia’s no. 1 netter Paradorn Srichapan of Thailand in the men’s singles. Srichapan, who is ranked no. 42 in the latest International Tennis Federation classification, is skipping the Manila meet in favor of a richer Association of Tennis Professional-sanctioned competition elsewhere. Instead, Mamiit is preparing against the possibility of meeting the 129th-ranked Thai Danai Udomchoke, who is Southeast Asia’s second-highest ranked tennis professional. Udomchoke is coming to the country before tennis action begins on Nov. 30 and is reeling from a string of losses from seven money tournaments. On Sept. 23, Udomchoke beat Indonesia’s top bet Prima Simpatiaj, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4, in a Group I Asian-Oceania Davis Cup tie. Simpatiaj, who is no. 633 in the world, is also expected be one of headache to Udomchoke’s bid to reign supreme in the biennial meet. Mamiit, on the other hand, recently reached the semifinals of the Champaigne-Urbana Challenger with Korean Hyung Taik Lee. His regular partner Eric Taino was expected to join Mamiit in practice after arriving from Hong Kong last night. Mamiit said opportunities which enabled him to reach a career-high ranking of no. 35 two years ago are no longer around. The United States Tennis Association are now keen on supporting younger and promising netters in the professional circuit, like Andy Roddick and James Blake. “At my age, they probably think that I’m getting old. They have a lot of younger guys like Andy Roddick and James Blake that I have to compete with. And it’s hard to satisfy everbody,” Mamiit went on. Mamiit explained that for the last four years, the USTA had been supporting him by allowing him to gain wild card slots for Grand Slams and Tour events. With that support, came allowances and coaches like Paul Goldstein. The only thing the Philippine Tennis Association promised Mamiit when they asked him to play were a lot of incentives if he and Taino wins a gold. “No money was involved here,” explained Mamiit.
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 28, 2005 0:35:20 GMT -5
From Manila Times
Indonesians shut out RP women tennis team By Marivic Awitan, Correspondent
IT took only 113 minutes for Indonesia to end the gold medal bid of the Philippines in the women’s team event of the 23rd Southeast Asian Games tennis championship on Saturday.
Undaunted by the loud cheers of the hometown crowd at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, the Indonesians shut out the Filipinos, 2-0, in the semifinals of the five-nation tournament.
In soccer, the national women’s team was still playing the Indonesians at the Marikina Sports Complex at presstime, needing a win and as many goals as it could score to avoid complications in the five-team round robin tournament.
The Filipinas lost 0-1 to Thailand on Thursday. The Thais played Vietnam in the first game Saturday.
In tennis, Romana Tedjakusuma drew first blood in the best-of-3 tie, downing top local netter Czarina Mae Arevalo, 6-1, 6-3, in 63 minutes.
Early in the match, Arevalo sprained her right ankle while chasing down a lob by Tedjakusuma, the individual gold medallist in the 2003 Kuala Lumpur Games. Arevalo hobbled the rest of the way.
In the second singles, Indonesian national team mainstay Wynne Prakusia wrapped up the tie by routing Filipino-American Riza Angela Zalameda, 6-1, 6-1, in 50 minutes.
“It was a bad day for me. She [Prakusia] played a good game today. I tried to adjust but it didn’t work,” Zalameda said.
Despite the loss, the Filipina netters still managed to salvage the bronze medal.
Hoping to do better are their male counterparts, bannered by fancied Filipino-Americans Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino, who are ranked No. 211 and 241, respectively, in the world.
The men’s team drew a bye in the opening round of the tournament featuring seven teams, and will clash against traditional rival Thailand in the semifinals at 9 a.m. Sunday.
The Thais thrashed Laos, 2-0, to earn a crack at the Filipinos, who are seeded first in the event.
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 28, 2005 0:37:35 GMT -5
From Tempo.com RP closes in on first team tennis crown By WILLIE CABALLES The Philippines took advantage of the absence of Thailand’s top player yesterday to barge into the finals of the team competitions in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games tennis event before a huge crowd at the Rizal Tennis Center. Bannered by two Fil-American campaigners in the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour, the Filipinos swamped the Thais, 3-0, to move within a step of claiming their first-ever team title in 23 stagings of the biennial event. The countryis also aiming to capture its first gold in tennis since 2001 when Maricris Fernandez bagged the women’s singles title in Brunei. Southpaw Eric Taino, ranked 241st by the ATP, started the drive with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 drubbing of Sanchai Ratiwatana after which the hard-serving Cecil Mamiit, No. 211 in the ATP list, clinched the best-of-three tie with a 6-2, 6-4 rout of Sanchai’s twin brother, Sonchai. (Ratiwatanas ) The doubles tandem of Patrick John Tierro and Johnny Arcilla completed the rout when the Thai pair of Weerapat Doakmaiklee and Sonchai retired in the third set with the count tied at 3-3 after Sonchai succumbed to leg cramps. Tierro and Arcilla won the first set, 6-3, but lost the second, 4-6. The Filipinos, whose bid was boosted by the no-show of Thai star Danai Udomchoke who is playing in the finals of a Challenger Circuit in Europe, go for the team gold against defending champion Indonesia, 2-1 winner over Vietnam in the other semifinals, at 9 a.m. today. “It’s great to be here, playing for my countrymen. I enjoy the atmosphere,” said Mamiit whose father is from Alaminos, Laguna and his mother from Sariaya, Quezon. “We have a great team, a great crowd who came out for us and I hope they continue to come tomorrow for us. The team would like to make our people enjoy tennis more,” the 29-year-old Mamiit added after his one hour and 10 minutes match which saw him dictating the tempo of the match with a service break right in the first game while rattling off 11 aces and losing only 43 of the 113 points played. “It will be a difficult day for us in the finals tomorrow. Our opponents will come out fresh and we know that they are prepared for us,” the California-based Mamiit said. So confident was Mamiit that he used up only 33 minutes to claim the first set But while Mamiit seemed to have an almost effortless game, Taino went through the proverbial coming out pressure as he started tentatively against Sanchai. “I was a bit nervous at the start because of the added pressure, carrying the Philippines. But the crowd kept me going and I got my rhythm,” gushed Taino, who needed two hours and 10 minutes, including an 18-minute rain delay and medical timeout by the Thai in the third set, to complete the win.
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 28, 2005 0:38:52 GMT -5
"Thailand's assistant manager Pitsanu Attasiripo said Danai, who was competing in Britain, was scheduled to return to Thailand today before flying to the Philippines. Pitsanu plans to ask Danai to participate in the men's doubles as well as the men's singles to boost Thailand's chances of winning the remaining four golds in the sport."
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 28, 2005 14:14:51 GMT -5
Fil-Ams lift RP to tennis team title By WILLIE CABALLES Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino fulfilled a vow yesterday when they towed the Philippines to its first-ever team gold in tennis in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. Egged on by an SRO crowd never seen in a long while, the two Fil-Americans won their singles matches to anchor the Philippines’ 2-1 win over defending champion Indonesia. The left-handed Taino opened the day with a come-from-behind 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over the veteran Suwandi Suwandi after which Mamiit clinched the best-of-three matches tie with a clinical 6-1, 6-2 triumph over Prima Simpatiaji. The deposed champions got a little consolation when Bonit Wiryawan and Sonju Wahyu Trijati nipped homegrown talents Patrick John Tierro and Johnny Arcilla, 6-3, 7-6 (74), in the no-bearing doubles match. The Indons also won the women’s team gold by dethroning Thailand, 2-1, in the finals. Tennis has contributed 12 gold medals since the Philippines started participating in the biennial Games in 1977 but this does not include a team gold. The RP netters have also contributed 20 silvers and 20 bronzes. “It’s a relief because I promised one (gold medal). I feel very proud , overjoyed. This is for everybody to enjoy,” the 29-year-old Mamiit exclaimed after his 63-minute match. The world No. 211 won the last five games of the first set, surrendering only six points to set the tone of the rout. “I think this is a good start,” Mamiit added.
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 28, 2005 14:26:18 GMT -5
I'm a little surprised that INA swept both singles in the gold medal match:
Wynne def. Suchanan 6-4 7-6(5) Ted Jakusuma def. Napaporn 6-3 1-6 7-6
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 28, 2005 14:29:43 GMT -5
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Post by freudo on Nov 29, 2005 8:57:35 GMT -5
i was mixing up this with something that kept the Chinese wta-ers out of several tournaments last year...sadly, I can't see the picture you heart but I can imagine
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 29, 2005 10:57:07 GMT -5
Oh, that's a shame. It's Wynne pumping her first and emitting a war cry.
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Post by freudo on Nov 29, 2005 11:44:02 GMT -5
awwwwwwwwwwwww
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 29, 2005 12:17:19 GMT -5
More about the glorious triumph from the Jakarta Post:
Women's tennis team serves up win Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Manila
The national women's tennis team exacted revenge on their Thai rivals for gold on Monday, but their male counterparts fell in a contest marred by a prematch protest about the eligibility of the host team's players.
Wynne Prakusya, a member of the team that lost the final to Thailand in Vietnam two years ago, locked up the gold with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Suchanan Viratprasert in 90 minutes on the hard court at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Her win gave the Indonesian women an unassailable 2-0 lead in the best-of-three match contest.
Earlier, Romana Tedjakusuma was forced to go the distance in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Napaporn Tongsalee. The match lasted almost two hours and a half hours.
There was disappointment for the men. Suwandi lost to Eric Taino 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, while Prima Simpatiaji was overwhelmed by Cecil Mamiit 6-1, 6-2 in an hour.
Team coach Tintus Arianto Wibowo protested the inclusion of the two U.S.-born players of Philippine descent, saying they were still representing the U.S. in tournaments only five weeks ago.
The match referee dismissed the protest, Tintus said, because both men held passports issued in April 2005. Player eligibility rules state a naturalized citizen may represent their new country six months after a passport is issued.
In the dead third match, Sunu Wahyu Trijati and Bonit Wiryawan combined for a 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over Johnny Arcilla and Patrick John Tierro.
Indonesia launched a similar protest about the eligibility of American-born Riza Alameda before their women's team semifinal against the hosts on Saturday. The protest was also denied.
/me thinks Molala will not be thrilled about all this Indon protesting!
Romana, 29, was pleased to finally overcame Tongsalee -- who had beaten her in their three previous meetings -- when it counted.
"I'm glad to be able to win gold. I was confident before I took to the court."
Wynne kept the small Indonesian contingent of spectators -- consisting of national tennis officials and journalists -- in suspense, especially as she had lost in straight sets to the Thai in Vietnam.
She held a match point, which was quickly canceled out by the Thai, who went on to take a 5-3 lead in the tiebreak. But a punishing rally of topspin groundstrokes was won by the Indonesian, and a spent Viraprasert tamely served a double fault.
"Nervous? Yes, I was a bit because it was a deciding match for the team. But I managed to brush the nerves off, helped by my confidence that we would be able to win the deciding doubles."
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Post by janie on Nov 29, 2005 22:06:41 GMT -5
Rommel99 of wtaworld said: "I was actually there.. talked to wynne and she said shes not sure if shell play in 75 dubai cause shes tired.. actually kept teasing her about suwandi lolz" So someone replied: "Wynne's tired? She hasn't played that many tournaments lately... " And rommel99 replied thusly: "thats what she said, like she started around 850 in the rankings and now shes in around 250.. said shes not yet sure if shes going to play in dubai cause shes tired.. shes playing four events in the sea games maybe thats why, team, singles, doubles and mixed doubles, she won four hours ago in doubles.. pretty easy victory.. actually her singles finals in the team event was a chokefest, she lead like 4-1 and 5-2 in the second set then she kinda choked letting her opponent catch up and lead 6-5 then wynne got the next game to force a tiebreak, in the tie break her opponent lead like 5-3 then lost the next four points ending with a doubles fault."
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 30, 2005 8:24:14 GMT -5
"chokefest", bah, I prefer the term "keeping the spectators in suspense".
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Post by freudo on Nov 30, 2005 9:23:58 GMT -5
"chokefest", bah, I prefer the term "keeping the spectators in suspense". LOL...did you see Martina Hingis may be on tour 2006? woohoo!
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Post by Brinyi on Dec 2, 2005 9:48:41 GMT -5
From the Bangkok Post In tennis, defending men's champion Danai Udomchoke reached the semi-final after beating Vietnam's Do Minh Quan 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals. Danai will meet Filipino Eric Taino in the semi-finals and the Thai is not so sure whether he will be able to retain his title. "Taino is a good player. We both are professional players. He has the home court advantage and the crowd will be behind him. It is going to be a tough match," Danai said of Taino. Danai and Weerapt Doakmaiklee lost 6-2, 6-2 to Taino and Cecil Mamit in the quarter-finals of the men's doubles. Twin brothers Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana booked a place in the men's doubles semi-finals with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Vietnam's Do Minh Quang and Khanh Le Quo. The two semi-final matches in the women's singles both pit Thailand against Indonesia. Suchanan Viratprasert meets Romana Tedjakusuma and Napaporn Tongsalee takes on Wynne Prakusya.
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Post by Brinyi on Dec 2, 2005 15:15:52 GMT -5
From the Manila Bulletin Mamiit goes for gold against Thai top seed By willie B. caballes CECIL MAMIIT found the going rough for the first time in five days yesterday but scraped past Prima Simpatiaji of Indonesia, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), to barge into the men’s singles finals of tennis in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center. The win, which saw Mamiit on the court for more than two hours for the first time, set up the second-seeded Fil-American to a gold medal match with defending champion and top seed Danai Udomchoke of Thailand. Udomchoke, living up to his billing, gate-crashed what was billed as an all-Filipino finals when he outplayed Eric Taino, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in the other semifinals which ended Taino’s bid for a four-gold medal finish in this biennial event. Taino is also in the men’s doubles semifinals with partner Mamiit as well as the mixed doubles Last 4 with Riza Zalameda. But the Filipinos have to wait for another day as rains late in the afternoon forced the suspension of the remaining matches. Suspended by the rain were the two women’s doubles semifinals matches as well as Mamiit’s and Taino’s date with Simpatiaji and Sunu Wahyu Trijati. Zalameda And Dy were trailing top seeds Wynne Prakusya and Romana Tedjakusuma of Indonesia, 2-5, in the third set when play was stopped. The Indons won the first set, 6-2, but the Fil-Americans equalized, 7-6 (4), in the next frame. The match will be resumed at 10:30 a.m. today. /me chalks that one up as a Wynnedonesia victory Earlier Prakusya and Tedjakusuma arranged an all-Indon finals in the women’s singles after Prakusya outlasted Napaporn Tongsalee of Thailand, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2, and Tedjakusuma ousted defending champion Suchanan Viratprasert of Thailand, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, in the semifinals. They meet for the gold in the second match at center court today. Also managing to gain finals seats were defending men’s doubles champions and Thai twins Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana who beat Indons Suwandi Suwandi and Bonit Wiryawan, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Mamiit, the 29-year-old world No. 211, vowed to give his all against Udomchoke and give more honors to the Philippines when they battle for the gold in the third match today. "But it will be tough. The last time we played, it was 1 and 0 (6-1, 6-0) but he was hurt then. He (Udomchoke) has been playing better and better lately and the finals will be enjoyed by everyone. Without any offense to anybody, I am sure you will watch a world-class match in the finals," Mamiit vowed. (way to offend everyone, yankee! ;D ) Going back to his semifinals match against Simpatiaji, Mamiit said he was surprised with the tough stand by the Thai whom he trounced, 6-1, 6-2, in the men’s team finals last Monday in just 63 minutes. "He was fresher (well-rested) and he played the balls more this time. I was not too aggressive today and I wasted some opportunities," Mamiit said pointing to four break points he failed to cash in on the two hours and five minutes contest. But while Mamiit stayed on course for a perfect three-of-three appearance, Taino saw his bid for four shattered as Udomchoke, putting to good use his SEAG experience, battled back from a 2-5 deficit in the first set to claim his rightful seat in the finals.
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Post by Brinyi on Dec 5, 2005 15:11:46 GMT -5
Wynne joins 'triple crown' winners Musthofid, The Jakarta Post, Manila
Wynne Prakusya's near perfect run on the tennis court at these Southeast Asian Games ended one short of its target on Sunday, with fatigue getting the better of her in the end.
Wynne, who only returned to tennis after a six-month injury layoff in April, won three of the four golds possible -- from the team, singles, women's doubles and mixed. She joined the exclusive "triple crown" club that also includes Suzanna Anggarkusuma and Tintus Arianto Wibowo in 1985, and Yayuk Basuki in 1987.
"She has played well in this SEA Games. She has worked hard toward reaching her goals. This is not only her success but also the team's," Suzanna, now the women's team trainer, told The Jakarta Post.
With the women's team victory earlier in the week and the singles crown from Saturday -- her first in the individual event since her Games debut in 1997 -- the 24 year old from Surakarta took to the court on Sunday in the women's doubles and mixed.
Wynne and Romana Tedjakusuma, the woman she defeated in the singles final, easily defeated teenagers Ayu Fani Damayanti and Septi Mende 6-2, 6-0 in an all-Indonesian final in the morning at the hard courts of Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
Wynne then paired with Suwandi in the afternoon to take on Eric Taino and Riza Zalameda, who were cheered on by their home crowd.
Southpaw Taino -- who had lost with men's singles winner Cecil Mamiit to the Thai twins Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana in the men's doubles earlier in the day ;D -- used heavy slice serves to confound a tiring Wynne.
(Mean Yankee!!!!)
The Indonesians won the first set 6-2, but the host pair came back for a 6-3 second set victory to force a third and deciding set.
At 2-2, Suwandi was caught out at the net by Taino's backhand putaway volley and Wynne hit an unforced error to give the American-born pair the break.
Taino and Zalameda only needed to hold serve to win the set and the gold, and they were able to come through 6-4.
As the match slipped away from the Indonesians and they could not break serve, Wynne, who later said she strained a thigh muscle in the second set, feigned throwing her racket out of frustration.
"We are happy that the team won three golds. It surpasses our expectations. Of course, it would have been an even sweeter achievement with four gold medals," head of the National Tennis Association Martina Wijaya said.
/me notes that Martina W is a bit subdued in her praise - not surprising...
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Post by Brinyi on Dec 5, 2005 15:16:06 GMT -5
Fatigue was all the rage at the SEA Games this weekend:
"Dog-tired doubles pair wills way to tennis gold" -- Manila Standard
"Exhausted Danai fails to repeat singles victory" -- Bangkok Post
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