Svitolina eliminates world number one Kerber at Brisbane International

Elina Svitolina celebrates her third straight win at the Brisbane International after defeating world number one ranked Angelique Kerber Thursday.

For the second time in five months Elina Svitolina made work of the world number one at the Brisbane International. Her three set fight over Angelique Kerber resulted in a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 score at Pat Rafter Arena at Queensland Tennis Centre Thursday. The world number 14 made solid returns for winners that became too much for her German opponent to deal with mistakes also coming into play.

The two met for the ninth time with the world number one leading the series 5-3. At times, the German found ways to defeat the young Ukrainian up and comer but doesn’t have a great history against her in Northeastern Australia. Svitolina took Kerber down at this very spot two years in a three-set battle.

She hoped to do it again while holding the recent victory from Beijing last season. The 22-year-old world number 14 had quite a fight on her hands against Shelby Rogers two days ago. Her victory led her to go against Kerber who rallied back in her second-round match that ended in three sets. The off time for the sixth seed gave her a slight advantage going into the match.

Svitolina led 2-0 in the opening set before Kerber made her mark in the third. She picked up two games but continued to trail Svitolina after six games. The seventh went to deuce where the two ladies fought for control in order to lock down game point. The victory went to Kerber who got deep into a rally with Svitolina before an open part of the court became part of her attack line.

The margin remained close but with the Ukrainian up 5-4, the chances for a comeback were not favorable for the world number one. Svitolina got to set point in the tenth before capping the match lead with a return from Kerber landing long of the baseline. Gaining a 6-4 win over Kerber after 44 minutes allowed leverage to spill in favor of the 22-year-old who landing 65 percent on the first serve and returns.

Svitolina picked up a second straight before Kerber put an end to it conducting some progress from her end. She overtook the world number 14 in the seventh showing great power on her forehand shot. She averaged over 60 percent on the first serve while Svitolina’s game began to struggle. Kerber used tremendous tactics that beat Svitolina to the point on court on many occasions. The German took the next two finishing the set with an ace down the middle finishing the second set in 33 minutes.

The third began on an even keel for the two holding serve through the first pair. Kerber broke Svitolina in the third with big winners that dominated her opponent. The Ukrainian answered with similar shots that kept the set leveled before a push to take the lead 3-2 on serve. She almost has things level with a 40-30 lead but a long rally with both responding to difficult shots ended with Kerber’s return just falling wide of the line to force deuce.

Svitolina dug in deep on deuce to steal the game away that immediately put pressure on Kerber. The German eventually won her third game but at the point of the set, it looked very difficult to take down the energy of Svitolina. She went up 5-3 in the ninth gaining two match points on Kerber where it ended with her return landing wide on an angle that gave Svitolina the upset. The dramatic finish ended 1 hour and 57 minutes for the Ukrainian that sent her to her first semifinals of the tournament. It was their best performance of the match with both serving above 70 percent, but the difference maker for Svitolina was her first service and returns that did the trick against Kerber for a second time.

“I was trying to just focus on my game because Angie is playing really well,” Svitolina said during her on court interview. “She had a terrific year last year and obviously, she’s pretty confident. I was just trying to fight for every ball”

The thrill of the victory would never be enough for her but would have to take a backseat in order for her to prepare for Friday’s semifinal against third seeded Czech star Karolina Pliskova.