Singapore clinch S’pore Tennis Invitational Cup after beating Indonesia 3-2 in final

SINGAPORE – Pride and revenge were at stake on Feb 1, when the Singapore team met Indonesia again in the final of the Singapore Tennis Invitational Cup.

Just two days ago, they were beaten 3-2 by Indonesia in a round-robin tie of the tournament, and they wanted to make sure there was no repeat in the final.

And revenge was they got on Feb 1, when they beat Indonesia by the same scoreline at the Kallang Tennis Hub to claim the inaugural Cup title.

The invitational event for four South-east Asian teams was held alongside the Jan 27-Feb 2 Singapore Tennis Open, a WTA 250 tournament.

“I knew it was going to be an incredible match and one that would give me a lot of excitement knowing that we lost it just a few days ago,” said Singapore’s Michael Dylan Jimenez, who won his men’s doubles match with Daniel Abadia.

“Heading into it, I just wanted to lock in so much and play the best tennis. Towards the end, the chemistry was incredible, the crowd was incredible, the support was through the roof.”

Jimenez and Abadia’s 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-1 win over Indonesia’s Aldhito Ramadhan Kurniawan and Mazza Hadaduzzikra sealed the title for the hosts, after Singapore also secured victories in the men’s and women’s singles matches.

In the men’s singles, Bill Chan beat Indonesian Renaldi Aqila 7-6 (7-1), 6-1, while Eva Marie Desvignes won her women’s singles match against Kholisa Siti Maisaroh 6-3, 6-2.

Indonesians Anjali Kirana Junarto and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya beat Lynelle Lim and Sophie Ashley Chua 6-1, 6-0 in the women’s doubles, while Tegar Abdi Satrio Wibowo and Mischka Sinclaire Goenadi defeated Chan and Audrey Tong 6-1, 6-2 in the mixed doubles.

Malaysia finished third after beating Cambodia 5-0 in the third/fourth play-offs.

Winning the trophy on homeground made it special for Abadia.

The 18-year-old said: “It felt really nerve-racking at first because we actually lost to the same team (and pair) two days ago.

“I’m grateful that we were able to lock in our chemistry today – me and Michael were just making shots that we couldn’t have made two days ago, so all thanks to coach Daniel (Heryanto) for giving us a lot of advice and the other teammates as well.”

Heryanto was pleased with how his charges performed, noting that the event was a good platform for his players to prepare for events such as December’s SEA Games in Bangkok, the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup.

He said: “The whole team gave 100 per cent, we prepared as well as we can – we had a lot of different combinations on the doubles mix and some singles as well.

“It’s a good experience and exposure to know the neighbouring countries (and) how they’re doing now.”

The experienced gained was also invaluable for Eva, one of Singapore’s wild cards for the qualifying rounds of the Singapore Tennis Open.

While she did not make the main draw after losing 6-1, 6-2 to China’s Wei Sijia, the 16-year-old’s first WTA experience has only fuelled her ambitions to become a professional player.

“There were so many things to take away because not only do I get to play against, I get to watch all these amazing players,” said Eva, who attends online school.

“It really opened my eyes to this top-notch level, what I have to do and improve. Even though the result didn’t go so well, there’s still so much to take away and it was a great experience for me and I just enjoyed my time on court.”