Elina Svitolina got the rust off her game and take her opening game at the Qatar Total Open Wednesday. The world number three rushed well against Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic before holding her off to take the win 6-2, 6-4 on centre court at the Khalifa International Tennis Centre. Vondrousova had 27 unforced errors and that led to her demise and Svitolina’s gain.
In her first match since the Australian Open, Svitolina had a shot at not only being back at Doha for the fourth time but also to achieve a better outcome than she had two years ago losing early on. The 23-year-old carried a lot more skill with her now despite never having face Vondrousova before. The 18-year-old Czech pulled off a good straight sets win Tuesday of Yulia Putintseva showing her strength to stand firm against a higher ranked opponent before facing a bigger one.
It was there that she faltered against the world number three who came out guns blazing holding her own before witnessing the teenager double fault. Svitolina gained the break and consolidated a service hold to lead 3-0. Vondrousova ended the Ukrainian’s winning streak holding for the first time in the fourth where a winner produced good results. The third seed answered back with another hold to go up 4-1.
The teen’s ability to get on the board allowed her some breathing room to be competitive and gain ground but as Svitolina took the seventh game, there were less opportunities to work with. She proved her point by breaking the Czech number six to bring a close to the set in 32 minutes. Despite having a low first serve percentage, Svitolina having just seven unforced errors was a sign of her remaining consistent and comfortable. The same couldn’t be said for Vondrousova who made five double faults through eight games.
The second saw the two holding each other’s serves which led to a fight for control in the third. Vondrousova challenged Svitolina to a high degree leading the two of them to take their chances on deuce. After three breaks, it was the world number three who held firm to take the lead and keep it. She went on to take the next two holding the set 4-1 over the 18-year-old who had troubles playing the pace of the Ukrainian.
In danger of another quick set, Vondrousova answered with a slight change of aggression that allowed her to break into a winning streak that gave Svitolina a smaller lead at 4-3. It was all tied up as the teen ravaged her way to a third consecutive win on the world number three that woke up the 23-year-old to hang on to keeping it quick. She served up big results in the ninth game that concluded with an ace to play for the match to test Vondrousova’s nerves.
They got the best of her losing three points in a row before saving one. It was the next serve that set up Svitolina’s backhand that landed inside across the net that brought a close to the match in one hour and eight minutes. “I’m very happy that I’m back in this tournament,” Svitolina said. “It’s good to be back playing matches and winning today makes me happy.”
She’ll have a challenge on her hands facing the winner between Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova Thursday. “It’s definitely going to be a great match,” Svitolina said during her on court interview. “It’s gonna be a tough one.”
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