by Romanian Cristina Dinu edged past Maltese Francesca Curmi in a tight encounter for a place in the semi-finals of the W60 tournament Liepaja, Latvia. The two pushed each other to a decider, with Dinu securing the victory, 6-3; 4-6, 6-4.
Critical Moments in Opening Two Sets
The Romanian Cristina Dinu opened the match on serve and both players settled into their service games well. Curmi was the first to break but the Romanian evened the breaks in the next game, aided by a double fault. Dinu then piled the pressure at 3-3 and facing three breakpoints, Curmi served up a double fault at the most critical time enabling Dinu to nudge forward 4-3.
The Maltese broke straight back, but Dinu returned the break to maintain a lead of 5-3. Though Curmi rallied to a breakpoint, the world number 283 Dinu cancelled it to force a deuce which she won to take the first set 6-3.
The Romanian appeared to be in full control as she secured an early break to love on Curmi’s serve in the opening game of the second set, which she shakily backed up with a hold to extend to 2-0. However, Curmi served up a solid game before mounting the break in the next match to even the score 2-2.
The Maltese then took the first of two available breakpoints to nudge into the lead (5-3) at a crucial point, with a chance to serve out the set. However, the Romanian was not quite done yet, and sent the match into another twist by breaking back. A lengthy match followed on the Romanian’s service game, but the Maltese cancelled two advantages before securing the break at the first sniff of a breakpoint to send the match to a deciding set.
The Deciding Set
In an exact reverse of the opening of the second set, Curmi broke on Dinu’s opening service game, before backing it up with a hold to extend the lead to 2-0. However, the Romanian evened things in the next two games.
The two kept going toe to toe. The Romanian kept her foot on the gas and broke again in the next game, but the Maltese kept her eyes on the prize and forced a deuce in the next service game, before taking the next two points to secure another break of her own.
Another crucial twist occurred mid-way in Curmi’s service game at 4-4. The Romanian raced from a 30-0 deficit to even the score, before edging towards a breakpoint which she claimed to nudge forward at 5-4.
Her final service game followed and once again went into deuce. Nervous moments followed as the pendulum kept swinging and though the Maltese earned two breakpoints, Dinu cancelled both, before shutting the game and the deciding set 6-4.
Key Points
The two players went toe to toe for much of the match, however on the day the Romanian’s experience likely had an important effect on the balance of things. Though both had their own share of double faults, Curmi had an uncharacteristic seven to Dinu’s four. The tight nature of the game is likely to have been a factor in this as both went for big serves to be able to win points, with Dinu serving up two aces along the way to her victory.
Additionally, there was a stark difference in the conversion of breakpoints. Dinu converted eight of nine opportunities, while Curmi managed seven of fourteen chances. Thus, the numbers indicate that Curmi had Dinu on the ropes more often, but the Romanian was the more ruthless of the two on the day, enabling her to secure the victory.
Despite being so close Curmi, who turns twenty-one on the day, will assess the game with an analytical eye as she chases further glory. The run into the quarter-finals in Liepaja marks her best performance at a tournament of this calibre (W60). The high-profile wins during the tournament continue to set the path for a higher ranking as she looks to break into the top three-hundred ranking.
Meanwhile, thirty-year-old Cristina Dinu continues her march towards a twenty-second clay title in her illustrious career. She next faces Darja Semenistaja who beat Dejana Radanovic in straight sets 7-5; 6-4.
Photo: Alex Buttigieg / WTA
