Elina Svitolina had the strongest victory of her run at the Australian Open Saturday. Her match with Yulia Putintseva was a tight one at first and ended with one-way traffic winning 6-4, 6-0 on Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park. It marked the third time the fifth seed made the fourth round and the first since 2019.
The two met for the fifth match, with Svitolina completely holding the series lead against the Kazak. They haven’t met one another in two years, and this one marked six years since their first at Melbourne Park. The world number five broke the heart of Coco Gauff, taking her down in straight sets two nights ago. She had yet to drop a set, unlike her opponent who had a tough journey through the tournament. Wins over Sloane Stephens and Alison van Uytvanck both went three sets, giving her plenty of action on the court. With the fight to take Svitolina into a third one, she’ll have to find it in her to take control and wreak havoc.
The fifth seed came out stumbling on serve in the first, handing free points to Putintseva bringing her to deuce. Two more errors gave the 26th seed the opening break and an unusual feeling for Svitolina. Putintseva fired away, scoring an angled backhanded winner that consolidated for the two-game buffer. The Ukrainian committed her first double fault in the third but recovered to hold service.
She consolidated with a break back and took a third straight game from Putintseva. The Kazak followed with a hold to level, adding a break to take the lead back. The third point of the fifth game went 40 shots, with Putintseva suffering the loss with a high volley that landed long of the baseline. Svitolina ended up taking the game for a second broken game before upping her offense to score a serve to love.
With the 5-4 lead, the fifth seed tried going for the break to get out of a tight set. Putintseva wanted to hold against the Ukrainian, but a second double fault in the game produced another set point for her. It was all over on another long rally that ended with Putintseva smashing a shot straight into the net, smashing her racket down to the ground. They went 24 shots on that one with Svitolina getting out of a jam in 47 minutes. Both had close stats with the winners to unforced errors making it an even output.
Svitolina knew the mistakes she committed and turned things around with a terrific hold to open the second set. Putintseva struggled to contain a defense on Svitolina, who closed in to force deuce in the second. She produced two breakpoints, taking it on a line drive winner for the 2-0 stand. The 26th seed built together with a good game in the third, having plenty of space to work her shots.
Svitolina denied her a breakpoint opportunity but continued to battle the Kazak back. After four breaks and another AD point for the fifth seed, Svitolina took it with a winner down the line, notching six games in a row. Putintseva expressed her frustration, as her lead in the fourth on serve was blown on a long ball error. She flopped the game entirely with a double fault, putting the Ukrainian two games from the match.
The Kazak, went for a different racket, hoping that could make a huge change in momentum. Errors on the returns caused her to drop the racket again, being worn down with another ball hit into the net. Svitolina just went along for the ride when suddenly Putintseva rallied back to deuce. A drop shot attempt from the Kazak didn’t go well as the fifth seed got to it in time, gaining the AD point. An angled shot from Putintseva landed long, putting her on the hot seat to serve a victory of fall flat on the day.
She did indeed fall down as the Kazak, gifted the sixth game, double-faulting to clinch match point for Svitolina to end things in 1 hour and 23 minutes. “I’m very happy with the performance today,” said Svitolina after the match. “Happy the way I could come back in the first set and then trying to find my game and in the end, I was pleased with the performance.” “I knew Yulia for a long time,” said the fifth seed. “We used to play when we were kids so I know her from a young age and always expected a fight.”
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