Elina Svitolina found her way to a comfortable finish in her start of the Gippsland Trophy Monday. The third seed played her best tennis of 2021 against Andrea Petkovic, who ran into trouble in her game falling 6-1, 6-4 on court 1573 Arena at Melbourne Park. It was the first win against the German since the Rio Olympics and one that she’ll no doubt build upon.
In their fifth meeting, it would be another clash between the two stars, with Petkovic always testing the Ukrainian. In their only meeting last season, the German controlled well early before being pressed in the second set where a tiebreak was in her hands. Svitolina had a decent run in Abu Dhabi, but her game was challenged in every match, with her trailing the opposition. While she had more time on the court in matches than Petkovic, the world number five had to be at her best or see another tournament get out of hand.
She served first to open the set, but found herself tight at first. Petkovic worked herself into threatening for the break but the Ukrainian rallied back forcing deuce. From there they went six breaks, with the German missing key moments to take the game. Svitolina locked it down in ten minutes while her 33-year-old opponent took just three to level the set with a win. The third seed coasted to perfect service in the third before watching her opponent slip up. A double fault set up Svitolina for a shutout, which came on one last error from Petkovic in the fourth.
The 26-year-old continued to play knockout tennis as she accumulated the last 9 of 10 points, widening the gap on Petkovic. The German committed her third double fault on serve in the sixth, leading her to another shutout and Svitolina serving for the set. Giving up just one point in the seventh, the third seed closed out 29 minutes in spectacular fashion, blasting the forehand for an easy victory. She had 11 winners and five unforced errors that rocked the 33-year-old who cooked too many shots and committed double faults.
In an attempt to make up for her early mistakes, Petkovic came out blazing into the second set with a strong service hold. The Ukrainian ticked off another service game, scoring her fourth ace of the match. Petkovic answered with a serve to love, showing control with her forehand that at times beat Svitolina to the chase. The third seed later earned her moment forcing Petkovic to trail and fight through every game.
She managed to break back in the sixth, evening the score with Svitolina. The breaks of service continued between the two, with Petkovic matching the third seed for the fourth time. As they closed into the tail end of the set, Petkovic suffered a double fault that ruined her chance at holding service. The Ukrainian opened the door to counteract taking a 5-4 lead. Despite falling behind on serve, an ace assisted her in reaching the match point. Svitolina capped her day with a fifth ace to win in one hour and nine minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment