Crossword Genius

Overlooks appointments when penning love notes (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dominates

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'overlooks' is the definition.
('dominate' can be a synonym of 'overlook')

'appointments when penning love notes' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'love' could be 'o' (love means zero in tennis) and 'o' is located in the answer.
'notes' could be 'mi' and 'mi' is present in the answer.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dominates that I've seen before include "Is top dog in Maidstone" , "Is bossy" , "Prevails" , "Towers over in Maidstone" , "Controls" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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