Elina Svitolina captured a spot to her second consecutive final at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship. The world number 13 got the best of former world number one Angelique Kerber winning 6-3, 7-6(3) on Centre Court at the Dubai Tennis Stadium Friday night. Her performance and regrouping after the German’s thrilling comeback let the youngster move on and get her third win in a row over Kerber.
The series between the two top players in the WTA was closer than before as the Ukrainian won her fourth game against Kerber in Brisbane in a full effort three setter. Svitolina carries a two-match winning streak against the world number two hoping to level things up and make her way to another final this season. The former number one has been getting through her matches easily winning the last three in straight sets. In her quest to get back the number one spot in the standings, Kerber will try to break her losing streak against the 22-year-old and take the next step at returning to the ultimate goal.
After a brief shower, Kerber opened serve with a strong win on service followed by Svitolina’s response that had things running at a good pace. The Ukrainian went for the break against the German but It didn’t come easy. The 22-year-old pushed hard for the win and did so after two breaks to lead. Svitolina got to a solid 40-0 run in the fourth but unforced errors allowed the number one to fire back. It led to deuce for a second straight game where both ladies had chances of winning the game but were denied by the other. After five breaks, Svitolina got the much-deserved win that increased her margin on Kerber.
The German held things together on service in the fifth gaining a win against the world number 13 who jumped out to three game points but lost them all with a solid comeback from her opponent. Kerber got level with her push on the break that saw Svitolina struggling to counteract the serve. She got back the lead with a good break on Kerber that she hoped to keep together with the ball back in her hands.
Svitolina earned a positive bump after a quick pep talk from her coach that resulted in a love service in the eighth setting her up for a match lead. Kerber showed desperation rushing her service with double faults and unforced errors. Svitolina used that to her advantage reaching two set points before a ball smashed into the net by Kerber ended things in 37 minutes. While both ran with 70 percent on the first serve, the difference in Svitolina’s victory was the minimal unforced errors and two aces that helped her capture a fifth consecutive set win over Kerber.
The breaks opened the second set with Kerber going for the opening game winner followed by Svitolina who had a mission to finish things quickly. She added another victory in the third that had her very much on the right track with hard ground strokes and perfect placement. The margin widened for the world number 13 who gained a triple break in the fourth with Kerber double faulting giving an indication that something wasn’t right with the world number two.
She didn’t seem to need any assistance striking back with consecutive winners that let her win a break and get within a game of the Ukrainian. Kerber still took a medical timeout due to an issue with her back requiring the medical technician who requested a medical timeout. She showed some anger but took a talk with coach Andrew Bettles to stay focused and get ready to resume the match. Kerber returned with her right leg strapped with tape and served the sixth hoping to level again. She didn’t as Svitolina attacked the struggles of her opponent taking another step forward to an upset. Problems continued to riddle Kerber who fell another game putting her in dramatic danger of losing in straight sets. In a much-needed response, the German fired off four terrific shots not making it easy for the youngster. It was the first one she held since the fifth game of the opening set.
Svitolina returned to serve for the match but Kerber’s big returns had the Ukrainian running everywhere on court. It led to the players even at 15 all before another shower fell upon centre court bringing a pause once more. Play resumed with Kerber trying to break Svitolina but with victory at hand, she had to push for control against the top seed. A second double fault came at the wrong time for the Ukrainian giving Kerber another game to live on.
Kerber’s rise to a full comeback had her a game down after controlling things on the break in the ninth putting major pressure on the 22-year-old. She held serve in the ninth carrying a three-game winning streak that Svitolina had nothing to show for in terms of stopping it. A key break in the tenth game saw Kerber becoming a newfound force that pushed the players to the distance of the set.
It was clearly a one-way street for the German who didn’t miss chances of dictating the rallies and taking back control. Kerber had the 6-5 hold with a chance to force a third set on serve for the 12th. The fight from Svitolina was her only option and did so with a break that forced a tiebreaker to be put into action. The strategy from the Ukrainian began to work out for her getting Kerber into a comfortable spot on court before laying out a winner far from her reach.
The German answered with a burning drive on the return that gave her the first point since starting the match. Despite losing the streak, Svitolina kept her attack with winners using net front presence as a means to keep herself out front. Kerber got back into the rally for the seventh point where she got the returns back but a pop fly gave the 22-year-old some movement to deliver another drive from an angle to lead 5-3.
A double fault from Kerber put Svitolina on mark to win the set with a rally that ended with an ace that dropped right on the line during the hawk-eye challenge. A final shot gave her the victory after a match that ended in 1 hour and 40 minutes and a fifth victory over her opponent. “It was really tough,” Svitolina said after the match “The medical timeout and the rain delays took a toll on being focused. It was a very tricky match.”
It came to no surprise that her match against Caroline Wozniacki for the title would be nothing short of tricky on Saturday night. “We played in Miami last year and it was a very tough match and was very late at night,” she said. “Hopefully it’ll be a good match and give it my best and see how it goes.”
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