Elina Svitolina drops Sara Errani in straight sets

Elina Svitolina serves up a shot to Sara Errani during thier second round match at the BNL Internazionali D'Italia.

Elina Svitolina sped quickly in the first but slowed down in the second set to win at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia on Friday night. A fast first-set win was slowed down by Sara Errani, who gave it her best but lost in straight sets 6-0, 6-3 on Pietrangeli Court at the Foro Italico. 

The two-time champ drew the tough Italian to take on in her home country. Having never beaten her before left the mom with much to battle for in her tenth appearance. Errani got plenty of action in the opening round, taking down Amanda Anisimova in three sets. The tennis vet wanted to rally big in front of her fans and send Svitolina packing for the third time, but Svitolina was more than hungry for back-to-back wins, having not had a pair since Dubai. 

The Ukrainian scored a break to love to open the match against Errani, who didn’t impress early on her serve. Svitolina saw a challenge on serve in the second from the Italian but managed to avoid any breaks from being produced. She captured the double break and coasted through the next three games, achieving the triple break of Errani. She played three set points before taking it on the final one, completing 29 minutes of tennis in the set. Though she outscored the 37-year-old 27-13, there was still plenty of tennis left to play. 

Errani made that clear in the first three games, putting the brakes on Svitolina, who struggled to counter in the first. She slipped up in the second, handing the break to Errani, who suffered a break back to love in the third. The fourth was their most competitive of the match, going to deuce, where they spanned four breaks. The Ukrainian took the victory and converted a break in the fifth. She took the next two games, scoring the double break, and tried serving things out in the eighth. 

Errani turned the tables and gave herself a chance to break Svitolina to love. The 16th seed denied her that opportunity, but she still had two breakpoints to save. Svitolina forced deuce but went to four breaks until she got a second match point on a wide return. She got it on a line drive that brought her day to a successful end after 1 hour and 18 minutes.  

Victoria Azarenka overcomes numerous double faults to win at the Italian Open

Victoria Azarenka playing in her first round match at the BNL Internazionali D'Italia.

Victoria Azarenka came from a disastrous second set to be victorious at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia on Friday. The former world number one committed nine double faults and needed six match points to beat Magda Linette 6-7(5), 6-4. 6-3 on Court 12 at the Foro Italico. It marked the third straight match the two players went the distance. 

The two veterans met for the sixth time and the first to come on clay. The 34-year-old didn’t have things go well in Madrid, suffering a straight sets loss to Sorribes-Tormo in the second round. Despite her early success on the green courts of Charleston, Azarenka’s 14th entry into the open makes her ready as always to compete. The Pole managed great control in her straight sets win against Zhu, opening the door to potentially leveling the series with the former world number one. 

Linette opened the scoring, holding Azarenka to a point on serve. The 24th seed was forced to deuce in her service game but denied her opponent a break chance. She turned things around, breaking Linette on serve in the third, but three more breaks of serve occurred thereafter. By the seventh, the 32-year-old notched her second service hold, taking the lead near the business end of the set. 

Azarenka managed to follow suit in the eighth and break Linette for the lead, setting herself up for a chance at the set. Double faults continued to be a problem for the 34-year-old, opening the door for Linette to counter. The Pole took advantage of the breakpoint chances and scored the key to level at five-all. Linette gained an important hold of serve in the 11th, waiting for the other shoe to drop and take the set. Azarenka tightened up her forehand serves and aggressively took the shots to her opponent. 

It was the best output of the match that took her into a first-set tiebreak with the 32-year-old. The two traded off six points to start the competition until Linette dug deep to take control. Her shots got the best of Azarenka, who struggled to rally back from tough moments and the crowd working against her. The 32-year-old bested the 24th seed, taking the set in one hour and nine minutes. The biggest difference maker was the shocking seven double faults that Azarenka racked up in the opening set. Despite having a better output of first-serve points won, the service of the 24th seed proved devastating. 

It didn’t get better for the 34-year-old, who notched her eighth but held the opening game of the second set. Linette pulled off a shutout in the second and watched Azarenka mark her ninth double fault of the match in the third. The Pole took advantage of the mistake and broke Azarenka for the early lead. 

The 24th seed broke back and stayed in touch with Linette to the eighth game. The problems with the serve smoothed out enough for her to take the lead in the ninth and force Linette further into the match. A push against the Polish veteran in the tenth gave Azarenka the momentum to break the 32-year-old and take the second set after 49 minutes on the court. Linette took a medical timeout to deal with a blister she got on the right hand during the sit-down. 

Once the MTO was complete, the players got into the deciding set with Azarenka leading the way from her serve to love. Linette struggled to get her serve locked down in the second, going a break with Azarenka before clinching it. The 34-year-old notched a second service game and watched her opponent completely fall apart in the fourth. It was there that Linette committed three double faults on serve. An error handed Azarenka the break, who took care of business in the fifth on serve. 

The 24th seed captured the double break on the Pole, who was out of sorts from the amazing performance she had earlier. With the Polish veteran all but out of the competition, Azarenka took her comfort and played out the points until she achieved match point on a ball landing long from Linette. An error from the 34-year-old brought the score to deuce where Linette saved three match points. Azarenka blew a fourth match point and after five breaks to deuce, Linette went on to take the game away for the break. 

The Polish star held serve in the eighth but Azarenka was through letting opportunities slip away. She jumped to a fifth match point on a bad error from Linette but suffered another setback. Azarenka was relieved when a shot from Linette barely landed wide of the baseline, giving her the win that did not come easy after 2 hours and 51 minutes. 

Ostapenko defeats Potapova in straight sets at Italian Open

Jelena Ostapenko plants herself in place for the return during her first round match at the BNL Internazionali D'Italia. 

Jelena Ostapenko dug in late to move forward at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia on Friday. The 26-year-old broke ahead in the sixth game of the second set, defeating Anastasia Potapova 6-4, 6-2 on Pietrangeli court at the Foro Italico. 

The two met last year on grass in an epic semifinal that went the distance and saw Ostapenko step closer to winning the title. The Latvian’s run on clay hasn’t been up to par with what she is capable of. Her losses at Stuttgart and Madrid were tough exits, but with Roland Garros looming, the 26-year-old needed Rome to be her best foot forward. Potapova was out in two rounds at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and in Madrid. She also wanted something good to come out of her second appearance in the Italian capital. 

The Latvian opened service and built a serve to love against Potapova until a line drive return changed the scoring. The 23-year-old rallied to force deuce only to give Ostapenko the point needed to hold serve. Potapova achieved the service to love in the second, showing her skill to fend off break points. Ostapenko improved her game in the third until Potapova committed the first double fault. The Latvian jumped on the breakpoint opportunity in the fourth to lead 3-1. 

The 26-year-old battled on serve to fight off Potapova’s push to break the ninth seed, widening the gap in scoring. By the eighth game, Ostapenko’s grip loosened, as the 23-year-old tied two games together, frustrating the Latvian. The ninth seed rallied back to hold in the ninth and pushed Potapova deep into her service game in the tenth until a set point clinched the match lead for the Latvian. 

It was a 49-minute bout between the two with Ostapenko committing one double fault, while her opponent notched three. They both played evenly on offense but the leverage went alongside the ninth seed, who produced strong results in the second set. 

Ostapenko rallied on serve and took advantage of Potapova’s double fault in the second game. The third didn’t go to the path for the ninth seed, who missed game point three times, missing by inches. It led the two to play five breaks, with Potapova taking her third break point chance to get on the board. The games stretched out longer in the second set, causing Ostapenko problems on serve, but the ninth seed broke back in the fourth. 

Potapova denied another service hold for Ostapenko, maintaining her reach on the ninth seed. A fifth break gave the ninth seed leverage to battle on and try to outduel her opponent. In the seventh, Ostapenko got the job done on serve, leading 5-2 after two breaks at deuce. In the eighth, Ostapenko needed three match points to close out Potapova in 1 hour and 37 minutes. 

Angelique Kerber upsets Jelena Ostapenko in three sets at BNP Paribas Open

Former World No. 1 Angelique Kerber clenches her fist during the second round of the BNP Paribas Open. 

Angelique Kerber held in through a tough battle to win again at the BNP Paribas Open Friday. Jelena Ostapenko gave it her all against the tennis veteran, who made her return something special in a three-set fight that went the way of the German 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 on Stadium 2 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The two met for the first time in three years when they played twice and split wins in Rome and Cincinnati. The German holds the lead after three matches but faced an active Latvian, who has 16 wins under her belt this season. Ostapenko’s consistency slowed down last month, losing in Dubai in the third round. Her time at Indian Wells has been successful, looking forward to getting in position to surpass the second round. Kerber did well against Petra Martic, taking the victory by a comfortable stance on the court. If her timing works out, she could down the tenth seed and climb on in the California desert.

She battled in her attempt to take advantage of Ostapenko’s early double fault. They got to deuce where Kerber had a break point but saw it countered and clinched by the tenth seed. They went through three games of serve with Kerber in control of her serve, while Ostapenko battled the second serve. Aces came through for the tenth seed, but double faults were still an issue. The Latvian scored the break, but the German broke back to sit a game down after five.

The 36-year-old battled the aces and winners from Ostapenko, but her second serve remained a problem. Though it opened the door for Kerber, the 26-year-old fought through five breaks but couldn’t hold off the loss of serve. The German got things leveled after six and made it 4-3 on a break to love of the tenth seed. She made it 5-3 and served for the set, only to suffer a break in the tenth. The Latvian was back in charge, blasting the right balls to hold the 11th and regain a 6-5 lead.

In a perfect response, Ostapenko fired winning returns to smash Kerber on serve in the 12th, completing the comeback of trailing midway through the set that took 49 minutes. The tenth seed won 15 of the last 18 played in the set. The first serve was her major success, serving 65 percent of shots despite four double faults. The aces and winners were able to downplay her problems and reel herself in.

In the second set, it was Ostapenko early on taking a grip of the competition against Kerber. The 36-year-old tried to destabilize her opponent in the third, achieving the break late, bringing an end to the winning streak. After two games, Kerber got into the lead, scoring the double break on Ostapenko. The Latvian tried to deny her opponent a hold of serve but didn’t produce enough break points to counter.

Ostapenko held the seventh, but the double faults continued to rattle her. Kerber took it upon herself to make a change in scoring, serving the Latvian to love. In the ninth, after the tenth seed scored, the German took the next four straight points to bring into action a decider, taking 42 minutes to level the match. Ostapenko’s second serve remained a mess, serving 26 percent from it and a lower output of aces.

Kerber had her chance to dictate but struggled to hold back her opponent. The Latvian rallied the breakpoints to score the early lead, but her efforts didn’t roll forward. Ostapenko suffered a bad service in the second, gifting the win to the 36-year-old. The Latvian thought she was facing a second loss to Kerber, but her efforts paid off to lead 2-1. Kerber locked down the fourth straight break of service, then backed it up with a shutout of the tenth seed.

The Latvian leveled back and suffered a setback in the seventh, losing her chance to run off. The fight was still on in the eighth, as the two traded off points and remained so close. It was just one break of deuce until Kerber clinched the penultimate break and serve for the match. The points traded off to one another until the 36-year-old reached match point. It went sour on a winning return from Ostapenko, bringing them to deuce.

After three deuces, the German watched a return go into the net from Ostapenko, bringing up a fourth attempt. She forced an error from the tenth seed to take a massive upset in hand that took 2 hours and 13 minutes.

Swiatek stamps out Svitolina in straight sets at DDF Tennis Championships

Iga Swiatek readies herself for a smash during the third round of the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships. 

Iga Swiatek marched to victory and a quarterfinal spot at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships on Wednesday. Elina Svitolina didn’t have the tools to overpower the number one seed, who took it in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 on center court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. It was the 24th win of 25 matches played for the world number one, gaining a second win over the top Ukrainian.

The two met for the second time last year in a thrilling quarterfinal at Wimbledon. It was there on the grass courts that Svitolina took down the world number one to make it as far as the semifinals. Since her return from a back injury suffered at the Australian Open this season, the Ukrainian performed well in her first two matches in Dubai to face her younger foe. Swiatek managed to straight sets win against Sloane Stephens, but not before being broken three games in a row. The Pole converted one of ten break points in the second set before her 6-4, 6-4 win. It marked three years since Swiatek beat the Ukrainian, hoping to keep her winning ways in check.

The top seed opened the scoring, struggling to hold serve against the Ukrainian. Svitolina answered with a serve to love in the second and continued her attack to achieve a break on Swiatek. The Pole held the third game and sent a message to the 15th seed, breaking in the fourth. The 22-year-old backed up the work against the Ukrainian, making it 4-1 to her end. The Ukrainian didn’t struggle on serve, but returning against Swiatek proved challenging.

It resulted in a double break for the number one seed, who served for the set in the seventh. She played aggressively to bring up a set point on serve, watching Svitolina return it into the net ending 28 minutes of play. Swiatek had seven winners and six unforced errors, but the lack of points won by the 15th seed made the scoring look the way it did.

Svitolina knew she needed a strong start to the second set, getting a 40-0 stance in front of Swiatek. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in a serve to love and instead went to deuce on errors from Svitolina and big returns from the top seed. They went to deuce twice before Swiatek took a seventh straight game. With the break in hand, the Polish star tied in the hold of serve to sit up eight straight. Svitolina managed to end her slide offensively and hold serve in the third, but it was an uphill battle to force a decider.

Svitolina countered in the fourth, scoring a big lead to hold Swiatek to a point. The Ukrainian fired well on serve in the fifth but her forehand erred during critical moments. It left the top seed to reclaim the lead on deuce and try to return to run away with the set. Svitolina raised her level of offense, getting a jump on the scoreboard in the sixth. Swiatek turned the tables to surge back on serve and double her lead in the set.

Svitolina dug deep on serve in the seventh, keeping her hopes alive with the victory. She converted the break, leveling the score with Swiatek as they entered the business end of the set. The 22-year-old captured the break back, scoring four unanswered to Svitolina before serving for the match. Svitolina battled to bring up a break point, but Swiatek countered to force deuce and reach match point. 

On the eighth point played, the Polish star won the match on an ace attempt that turned into a short rally before Svitolina long-balled it for the error. It took 83 minutes for Swiatek to get into the last eight, where she would face Anastasia Potapova or Qinwen Zhang on Thursday.

Svitolina scores place in third round of DDF Tennis Championships

Elina Svitolina enjoyed the victory she earned at the Dubai Duty-Free Tennis Championships on Tuesday. The 15th seed managed her service game to fend off Tatjana Maria in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 on Court Three at the Dubai Tennis Stadium. It was the first time in five years the Ukrainian earned consecutive matches at the tournament.

The two met for the fourth time, the first in six years dating back to the US Open. The Ukrainian returned to Dubai ready to take on the challenges, forced to a second-set tiebreak against Anhelina Kalinina. Her experience got her out of going the distance against her compatriot while brushing off the rust from her back injury. The German struggled to put wins together as pairs or better. Facing top 20 players she won just once since September of last year, giving Svitolina a chance to win back-to-back matches in the tournament since 2019.

Elina opened the service in the second round, giving Maria a point before holding the service. The 36-year-old followed along, establishing her offense against the 15th seed. Svitolina coasted through the third, with Maria right behind her holding on. The fifth game was the first to see the competition end, with Maria trying to force deuce. Svitolina won the critical point to deny the German that chance and remain on serve.

The Ukrainian took advantage of a window of opportunity when Maria suffered a double fault after landing an ace. Svitolina charged forward to gain the break and lead 4-2, backing up the service on errors from the German. Maria got back on track in the seventh, containing the serve to deny Svitolina the set. The 29-year-old got it done on serve in the ninth, scoring an ace along the way to taking the set in 28 minutes on a long ball return from Maria. The two had strong first-serve output, but the second-serve of Maria’s struggled to produce.

She put that aside and got into a battle in the second set, fighting off a break from Svitolina. Maria forced deuce on serve, but the 15th seed got a grip of the AD point to take the win away. The German made her pay for the change in action on the court, breaking back in the second. Svitolina chose to stick to the pace and attain a double break in response. The 15th seed got her offense back in check, tying a service hold with the double break in the fourth.

Maria also returned to holding serve in the match, cutting Svitolina off from forcing deuce. Control remained with the 15th seed after six games, where she held to double the margin against the German. Maria was under threat in the seventh, denying the Ukrainian an early chance to break. On deuce, the 36-year-old fended off four breaks before clinching the service. She rallied to a pair of break points on Svitolina’s serve, only to see the Ukrainian recover all of them. It was a tug of war for the AD point until Svitolina fired an ace to make it 5-3 and play for the match.

Svitolina finished strong, gaining two break points for the match, and ended with one remaining. A battle on one end of the court finished with Maria returning wide to end the match in 1 hour and 12 minutes. The Ukrainian’s serve was well-rounded from start to finish, earning a place in the third round where she’ll await the winner between Sloane Stephens and world number one Iga Swiatek.

 

Svitolina returns to Dubai a winner at the DDF Tennis Championships

Elina Svitolina readied the backhand during her opening round at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Elina Svitolina battled through a tough match to emerge victorious at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday night. Anhelina Kalinina gave the 15th seed a run for her money in the latter stages of the second set, pushing her to a tiebreak before ultimately falling 6-3, 7-6(7) on center court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium.

Svitolina, a former world number three, suffered a setback last month in Australia when she injured her back in the fourth round of the Australian Open. But after battling back to fitness, the 29-year-old returned to Dubai, hoping to get back into a comfortable position. Kalinina, Svitolina's compatriot, had not won consecutive matches this season and faced a tough challenge in facing the experienced 15th seed. Kalinina began the match by taking a point off Svitolina's service game, but the 15th seed battled back and established herself near the net to score a break and take control of the match. Svitolina then held serve to love in the third before Kalinina fought back to hold her own serve in the fourth. However, Svitolina stepped up her game and nailed three straight aces in the fifth to assert her dominance. Despite Kalinina's valiant efforts, Svitolina coasted to victory in the first set, winning in 33 minutes and producing a good momentum. The number one Ukrainian had 14 winners and scored 94 percent from the first serve, while her opponent had 14 errors and a lower serve percentage overall. Kalinina remained firm on serve in the second set, but Svitolina anticipated flawlessly during points and held serve in the second game. Kalinina made a statement on serve in the third, blanking Svitolina in response. She then got a jump on Svitolina's service in the fourth, forcing the seeded star to turn the table and hold. Despite Kalinina's efforts to force a decider, Svitolina raised her level of gameplay higher than her opponent, celebrating big points in the sixth. Kalinina remained locked on holding serve, forcing the top Ukrainian to either even the score or fall behind. The 27-year-old almost shut out Svitolina in the ninth but ultimately held to threaten her opponent with a third set. Svitolina fought back from a 15-40 deficit and saved two set points off Kalinina in the tenth before holding to dive deep into the set. Although Kalinina had a chance to shut out Svitolina, she could not capitalize and took a pivotal 6-5 lead to add pressure. Svitolina handled the pressure well, fighting back to set up the tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Svitolina took an early lead, but Kalinina leveled the score and stayed with her through six points. Critical mistakes allowed Kalinina to take a 5-3 lead until two long returns made it five-all. Svitolina then brought up match point, but a return into the net kept Kalinina in the action. The two players continued to trade points until Svitolina finally won on a five-shot rally, tapping the ball in front of Kalinina to win in a hard-fought 1 hour and 40 minutes.

"It was a tough one to play," said Svitolina during her on court interview. "Its always tough to play someone from the same country and I'm just happy to finish in two sets because obviously, I dont want to play a third set." She'll see the competition hold its pace facing Tatijana Maria of Germany in the second round Tuesday.