Elina Svitolina had three break points to lead 5-2 in the third set but somehow won herself a spot in the third round at the BNP Paribas Open Friday. The world number 10 secured her 14th consecutive match win in a full fight against Qiang Wang of China to win 3-6, 6-3,7-6(3) on Stadium 4 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
The world number ten got the chance to make good of an important tournament that could push her further up the ranks. Despite not defending her title at Kuala Lumpur, the 22-year-old Ukrainian’s victory in Dubai put her in the best chances to continue on the path of success. She faces the Chinese star for the first time after she handled Svitolina’s Fed Cup teammate Katerina Bondarenko in a three setter Wednesday. The high ranked Ukrainian’s preparations going into her fourth appearance were at a skill high enough to deal with the opposition.
She took an early 2-0 lead despite showing some serious struggle with her opening serve. It didn’t get any better in the fourth as the tenth seed fought for control getting it by her finger nails. Wang stayed within a break of Svitolina through five having a better game than her opponent who was ahead in the set. She evened up with Svitolina who blew four chances to win on serve but the advice from Wang’s coach to change things up worked for her on deuce to win her seventh break point of the set so far.
Wang saw the vulnerabilities of Svitolina were increasing as she won on service in the seventh giving her every chance to dictate onward. The second serve failed the world number ten to the point of a downward spiral to the end. Wang served at 5-3 taking the set briskly playing games and making a clear statement through 46 minutes.
The second didn’t get any better for Svitolina as she opened with a 40-15 run and saw it quickly erased by Wang who was on fire changing nothing from her dominance in the first. Aside from all the frustrations from her end and the fight from the Chinese star, Svitolina managed to get out of trouble and hold through three breaks on deuce. All the troubles seemed to disappear as the world number ten started playing the dominant role in the second. She added another break to lead 3-0 sending Wang’s coach out to speak with her.
Peter McNamara asked his player not to fall under the power of Svitolina when she carried most of it through the first set. The Chinese star’s response in the fourth was a return of challenging the opposition, leading to deuce. The two turned the game into a stalemate with six breaks in with Svitolina getting the win to step up three games. Wang battled hard on her serve as the Ukrainian hunted down the break while she had the chance to do so. Wang pulled off the service hold on deuce gaining leverage as the struggles for Svitolina overshadowed the important part of her game.
The Ukrainian knew that falling in the match was not an option leading her to bring everything she could together and finish strong on the break. She somehow pulled off a fifth win to serve for the set but Wang wasn’t making it easy for her. The 25-year-old worked through the points on deuce but couldn’t shut her down as a third set was put into motion.
Svitolina began with a two-game lead but it quickly diminished at the hands of Wang who broke back in the fourth to level things at two apiece. Needing to be the frontrunner, Svitolina continued the breaks leading 3-2 with the hope of staying ahead of Wang. A victory in the sixth gave her a brief two game gap but she didn’t carry much leverage to change the pace. Wang did well on serve in the seventh to sit a game down with a tie very much in play for the 25-year-old.
Svitolina completely lost control of her serve, denied a challenge on hawk eye, and finished it with a double fault that completed the comeback for Wang. The Chinese star ran with the energy from what occurred on court and found herself playing for the match with Svitolina on the edge of a bad way to be eliminated.
The best game of the match came from the Ukrainian at the most critical moment pulling off a love service that saved her for a moment. The win in game ten allowed her to play through 12 where one would most assuredly go to the third round. Wang dug in deep with the ball in her hands but slipped at the wrong time. The best rally came on the final point where the two got angled with each other until Wang broke on a winner from Svitolina giving her the commanding 6-5 lead and the serve for the match.
Svitolina took one last talk with her coach telling her to play one point at a time and to stay focused while being brave. None of that got through her serve as she double faulted for an eighth time in what turned into a crash and burn for the world number 10. She was forced into an ultimate tiebreaker where bringing all your best was key for both.
Svitolina edged ahead 3-1 on Wang’s long shots behind the baseline. A double fault made it 4-1 giving the 22-year-old some breathing room but not enough to feel comfortable. It wasn’t until she reached 6-2 that the world number ten had match point in sight for the first time. She gave Wang one final point winner but gave a sigh of relief closing out the 2 hour and 38 minutes it took to finish.
“I was battling through and it was very tough,” Svitolina said during her on court interview. “The weather conditions are always tough here but I hope to go far in this tournament.” Svitolina would go on to face doubles partner Daria Gavrilova on Sunday.
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