Even graduate student Britany Lau lost track of how many match points she had during her three-set singles affair against Georgia Tech’s Given Roach.
Eight match points came and went for Lau throughout the second and third sets. It wasn’t until she was up 5-3 in the third set on her ninth match point that Lau clinched the Wildcats’ (4-1, 0-0 Big Ten) 4-2 victory over the Yellow Jackets (4-3, 0-0 ACC), at which point a sea of her teammates flooded Combe Tennis Center’s court 2 to celebrate with her.
“(After) losing such a close set with having that many match points on that point, I literally said to myself that I’m just going to go for it and be brave,” Lau said. “And it worked out for me.”
Playing at the No. 3 position, Lau immediately asserted herself in her tilt with Roach. She broke serve in the first game of the set and nearly gave it back at the 3-2 game but saved two break points. In the next game, she broke from 2-4, 40-30 down to serve for the set.
She saved another two break points and won the set 6-2 with a backhand slice crosscourt winner after Roach had a poor approach to the net on set point.
“I was playing pretty well,” Lau said. “I had a strategy that was working very well for me. I think she got a little bit used to it towards the second set … The side that I was attacking, she kind of got a rhythm on it.”
Lau’s break advantage in the second set gave her an opportunity to win the match at 5-3 on return with two match points, which Roach erased. At 5-4, she had the chance to serve out the match and got up 40-15. Those three match points soon evaporated. At deuce in that game, Lau hit a moonball long after a lengthy rally.
The set advanced to a tiebreak where Lau had a 5-3 advantage. At 6-4 in the tiebreak, Lau nearly put the match away with a forehand approach shot but hit the ball into the net. She lost four consecutive points, including double-faulting on Roach’s set point, to lose the set 7-6(6).
“It’s tough to lose a set after having had match point, and it takes a lot of resolve to let go of that and start again,” coach Claire Pollard said. “She’s a veteran. She’s a sixth-year. I think she’s probably had experiences and moments like that.”
Lau’s battle-tested play proved to be too much for Roach in the third set. She said she adjusted her game to hit the ball more back and forth, focused on hitting balls deep into the court and emphasized getting to the net.
She earned an early break advantage in the set and went up a double-break to go up 4-1 after a forehand down the line forced Roach to hit a difficult backhand slice approach shot that landed out. She held for 5-1, and she earned an eighth match point at 1-5, 40-40, which she didn’t win.
She was broken to put the match at 5-3. On Roach’s serve, Lau forced deuce from 40-30, setting up her ninth match point. Her mindset was to be aggressive to finally solidify the match.
“If I was going to lose the point, I was going to go out swinging,” Lau said.
Her ninth opportunity was a success, as Roach’s shot after a rally went long to give NU the victory. Lau’s 6-2, 6(6)-7, 6-3 win marked her third singles win early in the dual season, all of which have come at the No. 3 slot.
Lau’s winning performance extended beyond her match-winning singles play. Hours earlier, she and freshman Mika Dagan Fruchtman — the team’s No. 1 doubles team — clinched the doubles point for the ’Cats.
After a split result in the No. 2 and No. 3 doubles slots, the doubles point was left in the hands of Lau and Dagan Fruchtman.
And the ITA’s No. 42 doubles team came through when it mattered most.
Lau and Dagan Fruchtman went up a break early in their doubles match but soon gave it back. At 3-3, they went up a break once again, and from that point onwards, they didn’t lose a game for a 6-3 win.
“I thought that (No. 1) doubles quality was super high,” Pollard said. “There was a lot of intricate plays that really showed off some really great doubles.”
After an immensely successful fall season, Lau and Dagan Fruchtman were named alternates for the NCAA doubles tournament. The duo has started the dual season 3-0.
As Lau won the match for the ’Cats, Dagan Fruchtman was deadlocked at 5-5 in the third set of her singles match just one court over. As NU obtained its fourth point of the match, Dagan Fruchtman immediately ran over to hug and embrace her doubles partner.
“I saw how she wanted it, how she was fighting,” Dagan Fruchtman said. “She deserved that more than everyone.”
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