Singapore won against Indonesia at the SG Tennis Invitational Cup finals

SINGAPORE: The Singapore team once again faced Indonesia in the finals of the Singapore Tennis Invitational Cup and secured its victory after a 3-2 match. Indonesia defeated Singapore in a round-robin match before the final round, and the athletes were determined to secure the inaugural Cup title at the Kallang Tennis Hub. 

The Singapore Tennis Invitational Cup was an invitational competition featuring four Southeast Asian teams and took place alongside the Singapore Tennis Open, a WTA 250 tournament, from Jan 27 to Feb 2. 

With this win, Singapore’s Michael Dylan Jimenez, who won men’s doubles with Daniel Abadia, said, “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… 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.”

Abadia also stated: “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.” Abadia stated.

Highlights of the games

Jimenez and Abadia’s 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 10-1 victory in the men’s doubles over Indonesian athletes Aldhito Ramadhan Kurniawan and Mazza Hadaduzzikra sealed the win for Singapore, finally securing the championship. 

In the women’s doubles, Indonesian Anjali Kirana Junarto and Cylova Zuleyka Hukmasabiyya won against Singapore’s Lynelle Lim and Sophie Ashley Chua with a scoreline of 6-1, 6-0. Furthermore, in the mixed doubles, Tegar Abdi Satrio Wibowo and Mischka Sinclaire Goenadi defeated Singapore’s Bill Chann and Audrey Tong with a record of 6-1, 6-2. 

In the men’s singles, Bill Chan secured a 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 win over Indonesia’s Renaldi Aqila. Moreover, Eva Marie Desvignes, one of Singapore’s wild cards for the qualifying rounds of the Singapore Tennis Open, dominated her match against Kholisa Siti Maisaroh in a 6-3, 6-2 play in the women’s singles category. 

Singapore team’s coach, Daniel Heryanto, expressed, “The whole team gave 100%, 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.” 

Malaysia secured third place by defeating Cambodia 5-0 in the third/fourth place match.