The 4-0 defeat by China at the Fed Cup World Group II first round in Jakarta on Sunday has taught Indonesia a lesson, the Jakarta Post reported on Wednesday.

"This is a good lesson for us and we have plenty of homework to do for the Asian Games," said the Indonesian Tennis Association (Pelti) chairwoman Martina Widjaja after the matches at the Bung Karno Tennis Stadium in Senayan, Central Jakarta.

She did not elaborate on the lessons but tennis fans may well agree that the speed, power and aggressive play of Chinese players were their key to victory.

Fast and powerful serves, strong return strokes and deep smashes with high accuracy by the Chinese players -- famous for their aggressive baseline style -- even when cornered repeatedly shocked the Indonesians.

A beautiful combination of volleys and strokes and the long rallies between points by Indonesians were a good tactic to upset impatient Chinese players, sometimes making them make unforced errors.

It was nice to watch but the Indonesians spoiled their chances of collecting points, said the paper.

First singles Angelique "Angie" Widjaja lost to Li Na in three sets 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the first rubber Saturday, while second singles Romana Tedjakusuma bowed to Peng Shuai 2-6, 6-4, 6-0.

Romana failed to use the slight chance Sunday in the reversed singles against Li and lost 6-3, 6-4 while Angie bowed out 6-4, 6-0 to Peng. The last doubles were not played due to heavy rain.

Pelti's national team coach Bill Tym said Indonesian players should start to adopt a more aggressive style of play rather than "cutie playing".

"Many Indonesian players have all the good skills needed. Good movement, good hands, except the (aggressive) style," said the American recently.

Instead of the aggressive serve-and-volley play, many national players play "cat-and-mouse tennis", which means a nice show of skills but definitely not in point collection, he added.

"This perhaps is deeply rooted in the Indonesian culture. That's why most players are already comfortable with their style and will find it difficult to change," he said.

According to Tym, more touring to tournaments in the United States and Europe will give the players exposure to the aggressive style of play.

Non-playing captain and Fed Cup coach Suzanna Anggarkusuma called on her team members and their second stringers to boost their confidence and skills by gaining more experience in different styles of play through international tournaments.

Angie, who is struggling from 1,200s after a two-year injury layoff, said she would head to Europe in mid-May for one-and-a-half months for the WTA and ITF Challenger tournaments in a bid to return to the world's top 100.

"I have to go back to square one. And I know that it's going to be tougher amid tighter competition," said the 2001 Wimbledon and 2002 Rolland Garros junior champion with best pro career at 55th in 2003.

Similarly, Romana will tour in the US Challenger US$50,000 and $20,000 tournaments after the Fed Cup.

"Besides the international touring, I also ask the players to stay fit and to not get injured so they can play in top form in the next match. I hope Wynne (Prakusya) recovers and joins the squad later," Suzanna said.

Wynne, the best national player so far, missed the match due to a nagging injury.

Indonesia now has to gear up for a play-off match on July 15 and 16. Indonesia defeated Puerto Rico 4-1 during the World Group II play-offs last year to advance to the World Group II.

(Xinhua News Agency April 26, 2006)