Svitolina achieves strong finish over Barthel at BNP Paribas Open

Elina Svitolina sets up for a big forehand shot during her match against Germany's Mona Barthel at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

Elina Svitolina had the experience and focus to come out a winner at the BNP Paribas Open Saturday afternoon. The fourth seed dealt with the drop shot skills of Mona Barthel to bring in an offensive gear that gave her the 6-4, 6-3 straight sets win at Stadium Four at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

This was the fourth time they met one another with Svitolina winning against the German prior to her first premier title. It was the third win she got over Barthel with the hope of doing well once again in the desert. She made the round of 16 twice with the hopes of advance further than ever with the rank of fourth in the world.

The first game saw the players creating unforced errors that led the two to deuce where Barthel landed an ace for the AD point then completed the first game with a winner. Svitolina created an easy start to her service game putting top spin on the forehand that led to her victory. They remained on serve through the third until a double fault and errors on Svitolina’s backhand gave Barthel the opening break.

Adding a drop shot point win and focus in the fifth, the Ukrainian rallied to break the German staying within reach. She put together a good set of ball placement that held back Barthel leveling the score at three all. The fight for control of the set was heavy as Barthel landed a net shot drop that forced deuce with the world number four. They watched game an AD point chance but had the difficulty of closing it out. After three breaks, it was the drop shot that gave the German the service hold to remain in front.

Svitolina began to show good focus which gave her a hold in the eighth pressuring Barthel to falter in the game with a struggling second serve and return. The ninth was another fight for control which in the end stayed well with Svitolina. Her focus on a rally at deuce gave her a big point that brought the German’s esteem down a few points. After the third break, the world number four locked down her first break to serve for the set.

She got the first in the bag holding a set point to her name and ending 41 minutes with the 6-4 win. While the first serve was not entirely at its best, the fourth seed had a stronger offense that she could roll forward while her opponent needed improvements in order to compete stronger. Barthel and Svitolina opened the second set with a hold but battled back the Ukrainian in the third who hunted down an early break. Barthel saved four break points before bringing back the drop shot that helped her hold.

They remained in course through six where the German used her drop shot technique while Svitolina had her experience making her service games easier. She won the seventh game despite blowing two break points and getting charged for a foot fault. With the lead in hand, it was up to 27-year-old to recover from the small deficit. She could not recover as the errors began to rise for Barthel. She somehow got herself to deuce on long ball from Svitolina. The two went to three breaks where a net error by the German gave Svitolina the 5-3 setup to play for the match.

The world number four eyed an early ending reaching double match point that gave her the victory in 1 hour and 22 minutes to advance to the third round. The 23-year-old finished with a 72 percent first serve land 15 of 25 on the second serve. The key to her victory came with Barthel’s struggling return game that the Ukrainian pounced on to finish strong. It was a great match,” Svitolina said during her on court interview. “I was just trying to stay focused on my game and keep it in two sets.”

She will get no time to rest as her third round will pit her between the winner of Su-Wei Hsieh and Carla Suarez-Navarro on Monday.