Elina Svitolina fights her way to win over Paula Badosa in Eastbourne

Elina Svitolina clenches her first during her first round match against Paula Badosa at the Viking International in Eastbourne. 

Elina Svitolina didn’t find her opening round easy at the Viking International at Eastbourne. The second seed had a rough outing with Paula Badosa who forced her to three sets but came out winning 4-6, 6-1 7-6(1) on Court One at Devonshire Park. It marked her first win on grass in two years and one that got her on the right path.

After her performance in Berlin, the Ukrainian need another tournament before Wimbledon to try and settle in to be at her best. After another third-round loss at the French Open, the world number five returned to Eastbourne hoping that three was a charm to best her second-round finishes. The Spaniard hasn’t had a match on the surface this season, but her previous success two years ago had the opportunity of returning. 

The opening game was a competitive one as Badosa challenged the service game of Svitolina. They went to deuce where after five breaks, four break points saved and 16 points played, the second seed closed it out. The Spaniard got on the board feeling more than warmed up, but her opponent looked to widen the gap. The Ukrainian comfortably took care of business in the third and smashed out a break in the fourth for a bigger lead. 

Badosa tried to get back into the pace of the set, but the second seed stopped her attack for the break and captured the fifth to increase her margin of victory. The Spaniard struck back with a break hold and backed it up with a break to sit a game down after the seventh. She was playing a dominant game of tennis, winning 11 of the last 15 points. Svitolina had to dig out more from her defense, but it wasn’t enough to stop Badosa from tying the set at four-all. 

A key break gave the 23-year-old a 5-4 lead with the shot to serve for the set. She had a lot of trouble on serve, committing a double fault and errors that put her behind. Svitolina assisted with some of her own that forced deuce, gave Badosa a set point, and allowed her to put away the first in 49 minutes. The Ukrainian had 20 unforced errors in her game that went from very good to awry. The 23-year-old scored 14 winners to Svitolina’s eight, giving her the freedom to set change the pace. 

Svitolina reset her game and opened the second set with a hold over the Spaniard. She backed up the good start with a break in the second, hoping to have a better grip on the court against her opponent. She made it 3-0 despite having a double fault that forced her to get to deuce. Add some crosscourt winners allowed her to move into a good spot. The second seed scored the double break that continued to see her cruise along in the set. She added another good hold in the fifth where she finished Badosa off with an ace for her second of the day. 

Badosa avoided the bagel, holding service in the sixth to get on the board. When Svitolina returned to serve for the set, she upped her level gaining three set points. One return landed wide into the tramlines, but the next was a straight winner to force a decider after 28 minutes. She improved the winners to unforced errors ratio, leveling herself with Badosa, who had problems with the double faults and losing out on converted breakpoints. 

She blew another opportunity that involved opening the set on her terms. Svitolina backed up the break with a hold in the second game giving her eight of the last nine games won. Badosa worked through the third to get on the scoreboard, but there was still a fight against the second seed. She broke the Ukrainian in the fourth to level things but suffered a break back herself to put Svitolina in front again. She notched a victory from her service game, finishing Badosa in the sixth with a net-front cross-court winner. 

The Spaniard answered with a hold, making sure that the break won by the second seed was the only margin she would carry. Svitolina scored an important hold in the eighth that put Badosa in a situation where holding was the only way to stay alive in the match. She opened a 40-0 score against the second seed before putting it away. She took the pressure off herself and on the Ukrainian, who served for the match in the tenth. 

The 26-year-old struggled with the first serve, notching a double fault that gave Badosa plenty of breakpoints. She saved two and forced deuce with a net-front lob that caused her to let out a scream. The two played a pair of breaks where one AD point went against Badosa and couldn’t be challenged. She gained another one that sealed the break to force more action between the two players. 

Svitolina managed to pull off a huge break of the Spaniard in the 11^th to serve for the match a second time. Key errors helped the Spaniard break back on Svitolina and force a third set tiebreak. Badosa refused to go away quietly, but her fight against Svitolina was not in the cards. Svitolina cruised through the first six points with a 5-1 lead and minibreaks in hand. She reached match point at 6-1 on a ball into the net from the Spaniard and a wide return that sealed the deal for the second seed completing a hard effort that took 2 hours and 17 minutes to accomplish. 

“It was a very tough battle,” said Svitolina to Jenny Drummond. “It was a lot of ups and downs but in the end, it was lots of nerves to close the match and lots of close calls and went my way and happy that I could hold the nerves and play in the end.” The two played 209 points and tallied a combined 15 double faults showing that it was tough to adjust to being back on the surface. More would come from the second seed as she faced Elena Rybakina in the second round.