by Maltese Francesca Curmi defeated Dutch Stephanie Visscher in straight sets to progress to the round of 32 in the main draw of the W60 tournament in Liepaja, Latvia. She sets up a tie against eleven-time clay court winner Lina Gjorcheska.
Multiple Breaks Give Way to Extended Set
It was the first encounter between the two players, and it was Stephanie Visscher that opened the match on serve. Despite earning the first point, she conceded the next two points to trail 15-30. Though she served an ace to draw back level, Curmi earned a break point, before a double fault handed the break to the Maltese in the opening match 0-1.
However, the lead did not last long as Visscher broke straight back, also aided by a double fault from Curmi to even the score 1-1. In fact, the two players kept exchanging breaks and in doing so the tie became more of a question of who was going to secure their first hold. At 4-4, it was Visscher that delivered two aces to hold convincingly and nudge forward into 5-4 for the first time in the set. However, with pressure on her shoulders to also secure her first hold of the set, Curmi showed no signs of relinquishing, instead cruising to a hold to love to extend the set.
The longest game of the set followed on Stephanie Visscher’s serve. The Dutch player faced two break points which she erased by serving an ace and a precise cross-court forehand to earn a deuce. The two exchanged several deuces, with the Dutch player opting for a few variations in shot height to throw off Curmi. The technique worked as it was ultimately Visscher that secured the hold, edging out front at 6-5. She then set off on the task of breaking Curmi’s serve to avoid a tie-break. However, the Maltese attacked the backhand and came away with a relatively comfortable hold to send the set into a tie-break.
The Tie-Break
It was Visscher’s serve that opened the duel with Curmi drawing first blood by attacking a short return, before securing the point with a winning forehand. She then took charge of the serve and landed the next as Visscher went long. However, the Dutch maintained interest by edging forward to return with venom, 1-2. Curmi extended the lead to 1-4, also aided by a double fault from the Dutchwoman. However, as the Maltese returned on serve Visscher reclaimed a stake by taking the point with a winning forehand and a back-hand down the line to reduce the gap to 3-4.
However, the player relinquished the next point with a return that missed the line. Though Visscher did all the hard work on the next point, Curmi kept up the defence, and ultimately the Dutch missed the volley at the net to hand three set points. The Maltese needed only one. She hit a powerful serve that forced a long return from Visscher, which secured the set in favour of Curmi, 7-5 (7-3).
A Comeback Cut Short
Curmi opened the set on serve and though she nudged into the lead at 15-0, Visscher recovered and secured the break at the first sniff of a breakpoint with a delightful backhand down the line. She then backed it up with a narrow hold at 40-30, as Curmi went long, opening a 2-0 lead in Visscher’s favour.
The Maltese returned on serve with the task of arresting Visscher’s momentum and managed to get on the scoreboard without facing a break point, 2-1. However, the Dutch player maintained her focus to keep the break in her pocket, nudging forward 3-1, before Curmi secured a relatively easy hold on her part to 3-2.
The Maltese kept up the pace and eyed the break in the next game. With two break points in hand, she delivered a winning forehand to level the score 3-3. Curmi then ramped up the pace and slid into a winning forehand that secured the hold, allowing her to nudge in front for the first time in the set 3-4.
Though Curmi managed to find a breakpoint in the next game, Visscher forced a deuce with yet another winning forehand. Multiple deuces followed as the pendulum kept swinging from one to the next. However, it was Visscher who survived, completing the hold to even the score once again 4-4. At the other end, Curmi held to love in the next service game, to nudge closer to taking the match 4-5.
Pressure returned once again to Visscher who needed to secure the hold to extend the set and have a chance to force a deciding one. Though she fell to a 0-30 deficit, she delivered an ace to get into the points 15-30, before stretching Curmi into a weak return which she buried to even the score 30-30. However, a wayward backhand handed Curmi match point at 30-40, before a double fault secured the victory in straight sets, 7-5 (7-3), 6-4.
Next Match
The Maltese will next face a tough battle against Macedonian Lina Gjorcheska who is seeded as number eleven and received a bye into the round of thirty-two. The twenty-eight-year-old Macedonian is currently ranked 249 but was ranked as high as 170 in 2017. She has plenty of experience on clay, having won eleven titles on the surface, including the W25 Heraklion title last year.
Photo: Deea Buzdugan
