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Jakarta Post

Christoper, Lavinia clinch Indonesian Masters titles

Indonesian tennis heartthrob Christoper Benjamin Rungkat and Lavinia Tananta Hartono have won the inaugural Garuda Indonesia Tennis Masters 2008 men's and women's singles after victory in their respective finals in Jakarta on Sunday

Niken Prathivi (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Mon, December 15, 2008

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Christoper, Lavinia clinch Indonesian Masters titles

I

ndonesian tennis heartthrob Christoper Benjamin Rungkat and Lavinia Tananta Hartono have won the inaugural Garuda Indonesia Tennis Masters 2008 men's and women's singles after victory in their respective finals in Jakarta on Sunday.

Christoper notched up a solid 6-2, 6-0 win against group-mate Nesa Arta in the men's final at the Hotel Sultan Executive Club tennis court in Senayan, Central Jakarta. Lavinia, the women's third seed here, upset her more illustrious fellow finalist and top seed Ayu Fani Damayanti 6-4, 7-5.

With their victories, Christoper and Lavinia will take home Rp 100 million (US$9,090) each, from a total Rp 500 million purse.

"I'm satisfied with today's result. It means my hard work has paid off," said Christoper, 18, who last May won the junior men's doubles at the French Open with Finnish partner Henri Kontinen.

Christoper rounded out a perfect day on Sunday with victory in the men's doubles final along with partner Andrian Raturandang, beating Nesa and Hendri Susilo Pramono 6-4, 7-5.

Women's singles champ Lavinia called her victory over National Games champion Ayu "a lucky win".

"I was fitter and more prepared than her," the 21-year-old said.

Lavinia benefited from a shortened match in the semifinals after her opponent, Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Sandy Gumulya, retired early, allowing Lavinia more rest ahead of the final.

Sunday's victory marked Lavinia's fourth over Ayu, who still leads their head-to-head by 6-4.

Ayu took early control of the first set, building up a 4-2 lead, before Lavinia bounced back to level the score at 4-4.

The on-fire Lavinia managed to hold her nerve during critical points to hold on and take the first set 6-4.

In the second set, Ayu changed her rhythm and went on the offensive, taking a 3-0 lead. However, a flurry of unforced errors and bad placements cost Ayu valuable points. In the seventh game, she lost her balance on the court made slippery from her sweat. She was not injured in the incident, but the crucial loss of concentration allowed Lavinia to even the score at 5-5, before closing out the set and the championship at 7-5.

"After I slipped, I completely lost focus. Five days of playing here, both in singles and doubles, have also drained my stamina," Ayu said during the post-match interview.

Despite the defeat, Ayu found solace in the women's doubles final, teaming up with old hand Liza Andriyani to outshine young duo Grace Sari Ysidora and Septi Mende 6-1, 6-4.

Ayu will next fly to India on Wednesday to play in a US$50,000 ITF challenger event, being held from Dec. 20-28.

Lavinia said she would also take part in the India event.

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