resulted in a thrilling second set tiebreak that gave the Ukrainian a spot in the third round winning 6-4, 7-6(11) at Next Gen Arena on the grounds of Foro Italico in Rome. In what played out as a fight to the finish turned into a combined 24 tiebreak points before the world number 11 won it in straight sets.
The two have met three times with Cornet holding the series lead. The Ukrainian took her down back at Roland Garros in 2015 that gave her the advantage going in with less than two weeks till the 2017 grand slam. Both didn’t do so well at Madrid losing in their opening rounds in three sets. With Rome being another big tournament, the second-round match has much at stake for the two but especially more for the world number 11 who has shortly fallen from the top ten due to her ups and downs. Hold back from making as many mistakes as her opponent tends to have would be the difference maker going in.
Svitolina had a challenging opening game against Cornet who wanted to get a solid start. Despite losing, she herself into a deuce draw last a couple breaks which led to her strong service hold in the second game. Svitolina answered with two more games under her belt which resulted in her first break of Cornet in the set. Needing to climb back on the scoreboard, the French star responded with a fine break on the Ukrainian staying within reach of gaining control of the set.
Cornet was still a game down after seven but her challenge to Svitolina had the world number 11 slightly frustrated at times to win the key points. She nearly had a break in the eighth but the tenacity of her opponent to hold on serve proved to be too much. It led Svitolina to make the first push to five wins and do whatever it took to cap the set. It would be the unforced errors from Cornet on serve that brought an end to thing and a positive outcome for Svitolina who took it 6-4 ending 48 minutes. Cornet had a dismal second serve landing 5 of 15 and returned less than 50 percent.
During the break, Cornet’s coach came out to speak with her giving her the confidence that she could dictate the next set and get even with the 22-year-old. They opened with breaks on one another that reached four games with a tie in play going into the fifth. Svitolina nearly had a love service but mistakes allowed Cornet to rally to deuce. It was a fight for control that saw five breaks but in the end, the victory went to Svitolina who regained a footing in the set to be out front.
She couldn’t find a way of breaking the French player in the sixth as her offense increased to be a force on the opening serve. Minimizing the unforced errors in play, Cornet fought her way to deuce and went seven dramatic breaks before holding service. The breaks continued to see the two deadlocked while breaking one another on serve. Cornet nearly had her first lead with a break chance in the ninth but Svitolina forced deuce to stay alive for control. She had a lot of hard work against the 27-year-old who was not giving up the fight.
The draw lasted six breaks before the Ukrainian ended it with a key winner to lead 5-4 eyeing a chance to break Cornet and get into the third round. An important hold for Cornet allowed the set to move forward where it would take a couple more games to determine a winner of the set. Svitolina hoped to produce a service hold in the 11th but it was her fighting back to save the game and force deuce. She was saved by an unforced error near the net and won it on another error by Cornet that had the Ukrainian back on point to finish it. Her coach Andrew Bettles came out to calm her down prior to the 12th giving her confidence to stay in control and dig in.
Playing against Cornet’s serve, Svitolina began with a winning return before one from the French star came to pass. The 22-year-old kept on with a strong forehand and attacked but bad beats on the ball landing outside gave Cornet a chance to win her game. She was forced to play another deuce game but it was quickly over as another long ball from Svitolina set up a potential game changer in the form of a tiebreak.
It was all Cornet in the first three points as she put the drop shots to good use knocking Svitolina down a peg. The Ukrainian ended the streak with her first point knowing she had to push the score to end in her favor. The drop shots continued to rattle the 22-year-old who was far from returning near the net handing Cornet another point. Unforced errors helped her get level at four all with three points stand between herself and a match win.
After a long moment between points, Cornet was given a warning for the delay which sent the crowd to whistle and boo. She didn’t let it get into her head as she played a good rally but gave Svitolina a match point chance. The opportunity quickly disappeared as the ball landed wide across court sending the tiebreak further on. At 7-6, Cornet reached her chance for the set but the volley attempt was answered by Svitolina.
She continued to show positive answers to keep the game at an even keel but the chance for a second match point came at 9-8 where she had serve but the rally finished with a key drop shot that beat the Ukrainian. 18 points had elapsed between the two but a long ball from Cornet gave Svitolina a third match point chance that resulted in the ball landing wide. She saved another set point that put the two at 11 all adding another chance with a return into the net from Cornet.
On the fourth match point, the thriller came to a close with another sharp angled winner that stayed inside the sideline ending the dramatic 2 hour and 22-minute bout. The set ended 13-11 that took 94 minutes to conclude but one that Svitolina would be relieved to have achieved. She had very little time to rest as Wednesday saw her facing the winner between Mona Barthel and Qiang Wang in the round of 16.
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