Maria Kristin leads Indonesia to Uber victory

Damar Harsanto ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 05/13/2008 10:39 AM  |  Sports

Maria Kristin raised her performance as Indonesia clinched a 5-0 win over the Netherlands and secured a place in the quarterfinals of the Uber Cup competition on Monday.

Maria, who suffered Indonesia's only loss in a 4-1 victory over Japan on the opening day, defeated Rachel Van Cutsen 21-7, 21-14.

"We've met before. I know her playing style and I tried to play patiently while waiting for her to making mistakes," Maria said after the match.

"I felt no pressure at all in this match. She made many unforced errors," she said.

When asked about facing tougher competition in the knockout stages, she said "Of course, there is a burden, but I try not to think about it. I am afraid that it could affect my play."

Maria, the world No. 25, has a 3-0 record in her head-to-head matches with Van Cutsen. She had previously beaten her in the Big Boss Dutch Open and the Danish Open, both in November 2006.

"Maria played pretty well and made few mistakes. She also analyzed my play very well," said Van Cutsen, the world No. 70.

Doubles pair Greysia Polii/Jo Novita stretched Indonesia's lead with a victory over Eeftje Muskens/Iise Vaessen 21-17, 21-18.

Greysia Polii said Indonesia could beat the Netherlands quite easily because the Dutch team fielded their second-team shuttlers.

"But we didn't underestimate them. We kept a watchful eye since we didn't want to lose any points," she said.

She looked forward to the next challenge.

"I think we are on the right track now. If we keep winning, we will be able to attain our target of reaching the semifinals.

"Most players in the team feel this is our time. We don't know whether we will have another chance to play in front of the home fans with most of the players in their top form. We will do our best to reach the highest level possible in the competition -- the trophy," Greysia said, promising she would continue improving her play and teamwork to win the next matches.

Singles player Firdasari beat Patty Stolzenbach 21-15, 21-14 to give Indonesia a 3-0 lead.

She said her team was ready for the quarterfinals, and would prefer to meet Hong Kong.

"I am confident we can win and advance to the semifinals," said the world No. 36.

Duo Lilyana Natsir/Vita Marissa and singles player Pia Zebadiah secured the last two points for Indonesia.

Lilyana/Vita beat Paulien Van Dooremalen/Rachel Van Cutsen 21-11, 21-11 in 20 minutes, while Pia made a perfect ending for the home team by defeating Yik Man Wong 21-13, 21-12 in 25 minutes.

As the group winner, Indonesia has the luxury of resting on Tuesday while waiting for the winner of the match between Hong Kong and the United States. (ind)

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