The Malta women’s team enjoyed mixed fortunes in this year’s Fed Cup Europe-Africa Zone Group Three tournament, played last week in Tallinn, Estonia.
Malta faced top seeds Ireland and Iceland in Pool D. The team, led by captain Helen Asciak, was composed of Elaine Genovese, Roseann Dimech, Katrina Sammut and Maria Giorgia Farrugia Sacco.
In their first pool match, Malta had the better of Iceland 2-1. Genovese won her match 6-1 6-1. Next on court was Sammut who was making her Fed Cup debut at the age of 14.
The Maltese girl gave a very good account of herself but succumbed to her more experienced opponent 6-3 6-3.
Genovese partnered Dimech for the deciding doubles rubber, winning in two straight sets. The day before, Ireland swept past Iceland with a 3-0 victory.
The last pool game pitted Ireland against Malta with the winner progressing to the promotion play-offs.
Genovese gave Malta a headstart after overcoming the young Jane Fennely in three sets. In the next encounter, Sammut was up against Amy Bowtell.
The first set saw Sammut hold serve against her powerful and experienced opponent but that was not enough as Bowtell won 6-3.
The Irish player dominated the second set, winning 6-0.
In the deciding doubles match, the Irish duo proved too strong for the Genovese/Dimech pair who lost their rubber in straight sets.
This defeat left the Maltese team facing a play-off for fifth place out of 12 teams. They were drawn against a strong Moldova team who sealed victory after prevailing in the singles matches.
Malta were classified seventh. The other participating countries were Armenia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Madagascar, Namibia and Norway.
In a statement, David Farrugia Sacco, president of the Malta Tennis Federation (MTF), said the selection of the Fed Cup team was in line with the MTF’s policy of promoting its younger players to gain experience in high-level competitions such as the Fed Cup.
“Despite finishing seventh overall, having placed fifth last year after beating Ireland in a positional play-off, we are very pleased with the efforts of our players,” Dr Farrugia Sacco said.
“While Elaine Genovese remains a solid and reliable performer, younger players like Katrina Sammut and Maria Giorgia Farrugia Sacco are being given more opportunities to experience such high-level play which augurs well for the future.”
Dr Farrugia Sacco thanked Bank of Valletta, the MTF sponsors, for their continued support.