Veronika Kudermetova stuns Svitolina in three set upsetter

Veronika Kudermetova flopped on the floor after her three set victory over Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals of the Abu Dhabi Women's Tennis Open Monday. 

Veronika Kudermetova earned a significant win at the Abu Dhabi Women’s Tennis Open Monday night. The Russian gained a second victory over Elina Svitolina, who battled her through another three-setter but came up short 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(3) on center court at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre. 

The two last met in 2019, where the Russian defeated Svitolina in three sets, bringing memories of the second seed’s last match. The Ukrainian had a rough finish to her round of 16 battle with Ekaterina Alexandrova, who she allowed to dig back into the match forcing her into back-to-back tiebreaks. Though she made it through by the skin of her teeth, she knew that repeating the same play against Kudermetova would only spell one result. The 23-year-old had a roller coaster three-setter Sunday but managed to come out of it better than she expected. 

When she opened against Svitolina, Kudermetova had a strong service game that set the bar high for the second seed. The 26-year-old was right behind her, making sure that she didn’t give the Russian more than necessary on the court to counter. Through five games, Kudermetova continued to lead the way with Svitolina answering the call. The Russian pressed the issue in the sixth, forcing deuce but she hit the ball too hard behind the baseline, leading the second seed to level once more. 

The holds of serve made it through eight games until Kudermetova made it nine with a strong finish scoring a crosscourt winner on Svitolina. The Ukrainian was under pressure to match her opponent, responding with a serve to love. With more to play from the set, Svitolina made sure to play every ball that resulted in her breaking the Russian for the lead. The tables switched late for the 23-year-old, who fought back to force deuce on a net bouncer that landed in. After a break, the Russian put too much on the ball, giving Svitolina the win in 46 minutes.

Both fought well against the other with eight combined aces produced. Kudermetova had 18 winners against the second seed, but the same number of errors is what gave her opponent the edge needed. When Svitolina opened service in the second set, she clinched another break for her second straight but suffered one of her own in the following game. The Russian consolidated that, with a hold in the third gaining momentum. 

Svitolina saw her offense come under attack as Kudermetova began returning well. The second seed forced deuce, holding the Russian to a break to hold serve. Kudermetova added more with the drop shots that got her through the fifth and scored a break in the sixth, widening the gap. She was soon up three straight, with her strategy paying off while closing in on the set. Svitolina managed a hold to love in the eighth but it was too little too late as the 23-year-old finished the second with a victory that took 38 minutes. 

The Russian had four aces and 13 winners, all while keeping the errors lower. Her production of points against Svitolina had her in a good place to go for the upset in the decider. She opened the third winning two games in a row showing serious dictation over the second seed. Svitolina put a stop to the run of games won, adding aggression to her groundstrokes that snapped Kudermetova’s streak. 

Four games resulted in service holds for the two, with Kudermetova waiting for her moment to strike back another gap on Svitolina. Though she was forced to deuce, it took the Russian a couple breaks to reach 4-2, sitting two ahead and two away from an upset. Svitolina made good of her service game, holding through the seventh to keep in touch with the 23-year-old. She struck well with depth on her shots that got her to four-all with balls in hand to go for the lead. 

A break to love for the second seed made a big statement on court, earning her a chance at the match with Kudermetova running out of chances. Holding the tenth allowed the Russian to remain positive and force the set deep. Svitolina had her moment to dictate the remainder of the match, instead the Russian made her moment nearly getting a break to love. The Ukrainian tried to fight back for control, but it was too little too late as the 23-year-old moved ahead 6-5 serving for the match. 

She fell behind 0-40 in the 12th, erring on wide returns but saved herself with an ace to start. Saving further breakpoints was out of the question for Svitolina, who got into her third tiebreak of the tournament. She found herself down 3-0 with errors, producing the deficit. She notched one but had a three-point gap kept in front of her. It was 6-2 for Kudermetova, who reached match point but missed on a long ball. Her second attempt had her serving it out, concluding in a second serve return landing just inside the line to end a 2 hour and 34-minute thriller.