NorCal's Jovic falls in $60K Rome, Ga., doubles final

Jovana Jovic (formerly Jaksic) and Olga Govortsova
lost 10-8 in a match tiebreaker in the final of the
$60,000 Rome (Ga.) Challenger. 2018 photo by
Paul Bauman

   Emina Bektas of the United States and Tara Moore of Great Britain edged Olga Govortsova of Belarus and Jovana Jovic (formerly Jaksic) of Serbia 5-7, 6-2 [10-8] in a battle of unseeded teams today to win the $60,000 Rome (Ga.) Challenger.

   The tall, slender Bektas, 27, and the short, stocky Moore, 28, led 3-0, 5-1 and 9-6 in the match tiebreaker. On the pair's third championship point, Moore's topspin lob landed inside the baseline as Govortsova and Jovic watched at the net in vain.

   Bektas and Moore claimed their third and biggest ITF title together, including the $25,000 Redding, Calif., Challenger in 2019.

   Govortsova, who played for the Sacramento Capitals of World TeamTennis in 2013, and Jovic, who lives in Sacramento, were seeking their first ITF title as a team.

   Jovic is projected to soar 49 places to No. 311 in the world in doubles on Monday.

   In singles, unseeded Grace Min of the United States and qualifier Irene Burillo Escorihuela of Spain advanced to Sunday's final in contrasting fashion. 

   Min, the runner-up to Sofia Kenin in the 2016 Sacramento Challenger, routed qualifier Bektas 6-0, 6-3 in 65 minutes. Burillo Escorihuela then outlasted qualifier Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in 2 hours, 58 minutes.

   The singles final, scheduled for 8 a.m. PST, will be streamed live.

   UTR Pro Tennis Series — Priya Nelson, 15, of Sacramento defeated Emma Sun, a high school junior from Newbury Park in the Los Angeles area, 6-3, 6-2 in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Nelson finished 2-2 in round-robin play in the $25,000 singles-only tournament. Sun went 0-4.