Davis Cup: Christopher runs hot but Indonesia held to a 1-1 on first day

Blontank Poer , The Jakarta Post Sat, 03/07/2009 12:10 PM Sports
Indonesian No. 1 tennis player Christopher Benjamin Rungkat lived up to expectations to produce a point against Kuwait, but the hosts had to settle for a 1-1 draw at the start of their Davis Cup tie here Friday.
Christopher put on a commanding show in his 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 win over Muhammad Ahmad Rabeea, before Kuwait leveled the score when its No. 1 Mohammad Ghareeb defeated Sunu Wahyu Trijati 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (2).
Indonesia and Kuwait are in the Asia/Oceania Group II of the men’s team tennis competition.
Rabeea lauded Christopher’s win. “He has the skill and was in top form. He played really well,” he said. He added he had no complaints about the heat or the court at the Manahan Tennis Center in Surakarta, Central Java.
In stark contrast to Christopher, Sunu put in a dismal performance, going down easily in the first two sets despite support from the home crowd.
He tried to lift his game in the third set, making the match a tightly contested tussle. But Ghareeb managed to hold off the Indonesian’s resilience to round up the set for his victory.
The two teams will resume play on Saturday in the doubles, with Indonesia deploying Ketut Nesa Artha and Prima Simpatiaji against Ghareeb and Mohammad Khaliq Siddiq.­