After the 3-0 win against Burundi and the 1-2 defeat against Portugal, Malta was drawn against Iceland for the 5th to 8th place play-off.Elaine Genovese started the ball rolling against the Icelandic no. 2, Hera Brynjarsdottir and showed all her experience by not allowing the Icelandic girl to settle to win comfortably, 6-0; 6-0.
Next up was Helene Pellicano who was up against the Icelandic no. 1 Anna Soffia Gronholm. Helene played solidly throughout and after winning a closely contested first set ran out with the second to win comfortably 6-3; 6-1.
With the tie secure, our captain, Daryl Delicata, then decided to give 14-year old, Emma Montebello, her debut in this prestigious tournament. Emma partnered Francesca Curmi against the Icelandicpairing of Hera Brynjarsdottir and Anna Soffia Gronholm. Although this was the first time that our girls played together they combined perfectly to win the first set 6-0. They continued theirdomination against the top two Icelandic players and were always on the front foot never allowing their opponents any sort of rhythm even though the latter were playing better. The second set was,in fact, more contested but our girls managed to close it out for a final score of 6-0; 6-2.
Well done indeed for another convincing performance and on to the final match against the strong South Africans tomorrow.
