Elina Svitolina met her match on Manic Monday at the Wimbledon Championships. The fourth seed couldn’t deal with the strong and aggressive style of Jelena Ostapenko who took it to the Ukrainian winning 6-3, 7-6(6) on Court 12 at the All England Tennis Club.
Two of the sport’s young guns faced off for the first time in what would be a very interesting match between the soon to be world number four and the recent French Open champion. They made it their first meeting ever in a spot neither of them have experienced at the All England Club. The 22-year-old Ukrainian had yet to drop a set and took down contenders that were right in her wheelhouse. Facing Ostapenko would be new ground for her as the 20-year-old had an aggressive style that at times got her into trouble but helped her defeat her three recent obstacles. With both seeking big moments on the grass courts, it would be the start in the opening set that would set pace for a battle of youthful superstars.
Ostapenko already set the bar high for Svitolina who she managed to break with aggressive responses on the returns. Her service was some of the most dynamic and devastating shots that had the Ukrainian running from side to side of the court to stay with the rally. In the end, it became too much giving the Latvian a two-game lead. The double faults weren’t helping her efforts to get in the game as she committed her second one in the third. Svitolina regrouped quickly to force deuce and capture the win that got her on the board.
They remained on serve in the fourth but the victory went to Ostapenko who continued to use her style of play to dominate the world number four. She remained in charge after 17 minutes giving herself a firm margin over Svitolina who was troubled by the fast forehand from the 20-year-old. Svitolina had a great chance at winning an easy game on the break but Ostapenko found ways of rallying back to erase all the points and force deuce on service. A critical double fault gave the Ukrainian one last chance for a break point and sealed the victory with a line drive return winner.
Unforced errors helped out Svitolina on serve as her opponent showed troubles deal with the Ukrainian’s service. It led to the world number one gaining another game in hand to sit just one from tying things up with the 20-year-old going into the eighth. The second serve began to trouble the Latvian who double faulted once more opening the door for Svitolina.
The fourth seed delivered ground strokes on the returns to beat Ostapenko at times but holding the advantage was harder than ever. It gave the number 13 seed a 5-3 hold with Svitolina serving to stay in the set. It was a battle she continued to have trouble over Ostapenko who forced an endgame to her benefit that brought the set to a close in 36 minutes.
With the Latvian carrying serious leverage going into the second, it was up to the world number five to strategize a plan to deal with her younger opponent and make a push at gripping the control. It was easier said than done as Ostapenko kept her own game strong and led 2-1 despite struggling on the second serve. The same could be said with Svitolina’s as she racked up the double faults in the fourth. The Ukrainian battled to get ahead on Ostapenko and launched an ace to serve up game point.
The second consecutive ace was just what the doctor ordered to level her at two all. The fifth became her chance to dictate with a force of deuce on the break but a slip of control allowed Ostapenko to take the game away and hold service in the end. The small things went in favor of the 20-year-old who had a lot more going for her than ever in the match. It took its toll on Svitolina who seemed to lose self-esteem in her game and began lagging to the finish line with answers struggling to come out for her.
It led to the Latvian taking a solid 5-2 run with a chance to play for the match and bring an end to the world number five. She took Svitolina to deuce only to falter on two tough winners that gave the Ukrainian life. Ostapenko served for it in the ninth where her aggression remained at a high to rally to match point. The attempts were erased by Svitolina to fire off sliced returns to force deuce with the Latvian. She continued to get a chance as the 20-year-old missed match point by the smallest of margins. They didn’t help her get the pinnacle victory as she double faulted to hand another win in favor of the fourth seed.
The nerves really got to the 13th seed as she made key mistakes that cost her a conclusion to the set and allowed Svitolina to recover fully. The Ukrainian made good on her serve in the tenth to pressure Ostapenko and get back in the match. She did indeed fight back after going down in the 11th, giving her the chance to still win it in straight sets. They both went to a critical tiebreaker.
Svitolina opened the points streak but saw the Latvian rally back. She got things even at four points before the fight for seven really got serious. Ostapenko got to 6-5 but couldn’t get match point as Svitolina scored the tying point to level at six all. A terrific lob for the Latvian that landed just beyond the net gave her a huge chance at putting Svitolina away. The aggression on serve once more had Svitolina running from side to side that ended in a return into the net ending the tournament run for the world number four in 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Ostapenko carried a first serve percentage that was on lock from start to finish against Svitolina who had her ups and downs dealing with the game her opponent brought to court. The Latvian launched 42 winners against Svitolina who only had 14 on the day while keeping the unforced errors minimal. It wasn’t the key to her pulling off a comeback as she finished one of her best runs at the tournament to date. While she’ll take much needed time off, the 20-year-old would take things against the winner between Ana Konjuh and American veteran Venus Williams in the quarterfinals.
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