by The Slovakian Sofia Milatova defeated Maltese Elaine Genovese in three sets at the W60 tournament being held on the clay courts of Liepaja, Latvia. Two very different sets followed each other as the two traded 6-2 wins. The decider went the distance, but it was Milatova who secured it 7-5 to progress to the next round.
Milatova Hits the Ground Running
The Slovakian opened on serve and got through the game relatively unthreatened, before mounting an attack on Genovese’s serve. The Maltese double faulted at a point down to trail by 0-30. Though she recovered to 15-30, the Slovakian won the next point to earn two break points at 15-40. Genovese cancelled one, but could not force a deuce as the Milatova secured the break with the next point. The set appeared to be slipping away quickly as the Slovakian next breezed to another secure hold to extend the lead to 3-0 in her favour.
However, Genovese secured a convincing hold with the next game to get on the scoreboard. She mounted an attack on Milatova’s serve in the next game which was the first to go to deuce. However, the Slovakian managed the hold to maintain the break advantage at 4-1.
In a strange turn of events, a disastrous couple of games followed on serve for both players, where each broke each other straight back to love, rendering the score at 5-2. At this point, Genovese faced the pressure of holding to stay in the set. The two exchanged points, with the Maltese serving both an ace and a double fault in the match. The Maltese saved a breakpoint to force a deuce, but the Slovakian made sure to claim the advantage and convert the second breakpoint to win the set 6-2.
Genovese Mounts the Comeback
It was Milatova’s turn on serve at the start of the second set. She led with a 15-0 lead, before letting Genovese in with a double fault. The Maltese pounced on the chance to mount pressure in a set that she needed to win. She converted the breakpoint at the first time of asking, before following it up with a strong hold, to swiftly confirm the swing in momentum in her favour. The Maltese followed it up with another break on Milatova’s serve, before cruising to a hold to love, thus opening a 4-0 lead in her favour.
The set appeared to be slipping away from Milatova’s hands fast, and though the next game went to multiple deuces, she managed to secure the hold to get on the scoreboard and arrest Genovese’s momentum. Though the Maltese opened up a 30-0 in the next game, Milatova raced back and secured the break to reduce the gap to 4-2. Genovese forced yet another swing in momentum in the next game on Milatova’s serve, breaking at the first of two available break points to edge ahead 5-2. She closed out the set 6-2 in the next service game, which she won by saving two break points before securing the hold to force a deciding set.
The Decider
The two players kept up the battle of the breaks as they faced off in the decider. Milatova opened on serve and the two players exchanged points, before Genovese secured the break with the only breakpoint in hand. However, the Slovakian broke straight back to even the score 1-1.
The two players steadied their service games for their next games, both managing holds without facing a break point. However, mistakes crept back into the game at 2-2. The Slovakian opened with a double fault on serve, allowing Genovese to apply the pressure and in fact the Maltese secured the break with two break points in hand. However, she could not support the break with a hold. A double fault was served at the worst possible time at 15-30 to aid the Slovakian two break points. She only needed one to break straight back, 3-3.
The two kept up the cat-and-mouse game but both managed holds in their next games, albeit Genovese’s serve was threatened for longer with the match going through six deuces before the Maltese ultimately secured the hold. Having endured that pressure and come out swinging, the Maltese then mounted an attack on Milatova’s serve and edged out front with a 5-4 lead. However, the Slovakian was determined to stay in the match and broke to love to extend the set.
Returning on serve at 5-5, Milatova opened a 40-0 lead, before Genovese reeled her back in. However, at 40-30 the Slovakian won the next point to put herself in the best possible position at 6-5. It was then Genovese’s turn to serve, with the pressure to force a tie-break firmly on her shoulders. The two players exchanged points, with Milatova forcing a deuce. It was the Slovakian that won the next two points to secure the set 7-5, and thus confirming her place in the next round of qualifying, where she will face German Emily Welker.
Photos: si.robi / Deea Buzdugan
