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Indonesia counts on Christo in Davis Cup matches against Kenya
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Indonesia's nonplaying captain Febi Widhiyanto speaks to the press on Wednesday, ahead of the Davis Cup match between Indonesia and Kenya in Jakarta. (JP/Ramadani Saputra)
I
ndonesian tennis will rely heavily on its ace Christopher “Christo” Rungkat to lead them to victory in the Davis Cup World Group II play-off against Kenya in Jakarta on Friday and Saturday.
Christo, who recently made history by becoming the first Indonesian male player to win an ATP tour title, will power up the team alongside another seasoned player, David Agung Susanto, and two juniors, M. Rifqi Fitriadi and Gunawan Trismuwantara. It will be the first meeting between the two teams in the new format of the Davis Cup, which no longer categorizes countries based on regional zone.
Even though Christo focuses on playing doubles, Indonesia’s nonplaying captain, Febi Widhiyanto, said on Wednesday that he might deploy him to play a singles match against Kenya. The last time Christo competed in the singles category at an international tournament was in the 2018 ATP Challenger Tour in Busan, South Korea.
“In the current composition, all the players [we have] can play [both singles and doubles]. Since I have no idea about the strength of Kenya, this will be quite tough,” he said.
“I hope that I can deploy Christo in singles, but I cannot force him, since he has been focusing on playing doubles. But, he’s still the best [we’ve got],” he added.
Febi went on to say that Christo was crucial for the team as he could boost other players’ confidence, while denying that the team was overly dependent on the 30-year-old.
“We need a leader. Christo is a leader figure. Even if he does not play, the atmosphere will be different as he sits there with the team,” he said.
With no track record of encounters between the two teams, Kenya’s nonplaying captain Rosemary Owino praised the opposing side as a strong team, adding that her team would do its best to save the chance to advance to the World Group I.
In terms of individual rankings, Kenyan players stand in the top 2000 in singles and doubles. Indonesia’s sole player with an ATP singles ranking is David Agung Susanto, who stands at 1346. Meanwhile, Christo is ranked at 80 in doubles.
In the current Davis Cup ranking, Kenya is in 63rd place, just ahead of Christo and his teammates in 65th position. The winner of the match will play against the losing nation of World Group I play-offs to determine which one advances to Group I.
The loser must fight to stay in World Group II by winning the regional Group III competition in the middle of this year.
