Elina Svitolina hammers out Simona Halep in straight sets at US Open

Elina Svitolina clenches her first during a fourth-round match with Simona Halep at the US Open. 

Elina Svitolina smashed away on the court to glide into the quarterfinals of the US Open Sunday. Simona Halep tried to fight her way through the Ukrainian, who held her ground from start to finish and find herself out in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It was her first win against the Romanian in slam competition and her second straight appearance in the last eight. 

The two ignited their rivalry for the 11^th time and the first in two years. The Ukrainian leveled the series at the WTA Final that made a statement for her loss in the semifinals at Wimbledon the same year. With a spot in the quarterfinal on the line in New York, both top 20 players would prepare to dig in against one another for a showdown. While Svitolina had an easy win against Daria Kasatkina, Halep fought for her tournament life. A lengthy tiebreak in the opening set that she managed to win kept her in a clash with Elena Rybakina until she pulled away in three sets. With the ability to stay tight in key situations, the Romanian expected to see many more in her battle with the world number five. 

Svitolina breezed through her opening service, allowing Halep just one point in the first game. The Romanian didn’t have it easy against the fifth seed, who forced deuce only to be denied a chance to produce breakpoint. The 12^th seed took her chance in the third when she jumped for a breakpoint against Svitolina and succeeded. Backing the win on serve was not to be as the 26-year-old pressured Halep, moving her around the court and finding the easy points. With the pace even on both sides of the court, Svitolina backed up the break to return to holding serve. 

Halep followed suit with a shutout over Svitolina to level the score after the sixth game. Just when it looked as if she would get a leg on the Ukrainian, errors began to rattle the 29-year-old. The free points got Svitolina to deuce and saved her from giving up another game. She served up a big hit on the 12^th seed, breaking her easily in the eighth to serve for the set. Svitolina allowed Halep one point on serve in the ninth before capping the set in 34 minutes. 

Errors were costly for the 29-year-old to commit despite only recording a dozen, it affected her service that was finding points less than 60 percent of the time. The Romanian regrouped in the second by holding serve in the first game and give it her best competitive spirit to challenge Svitolina. The Ukrainian got the edge needed on serve to contain the second game and keep Halep trailing. 

Errors rattled Halep once again with a double fault becoming part of the problem. Svitolina handled her end while the 29-year-old handed her another break. With the 2-1 lead, the Ukrainian nearly had a two-game gap, but a bad hit off the racket followed by her first double-faulted opened the door for Halep. A good run for the ball allowed her to catch the 26-year-old asleep in the middle of the court to even the score after four. 

Halep gained confidence and comfort in her service that pushed her ahead in the fifth. Svitolina wasn’t going to let her get away and held serve in the sixth to push the 12^th seed back. She fought through every point in the seventh that resulted in a huge break for the fifth seed. She held serve in the eighth to play for a shot at a spot in the quarterfinal with Halep under pressure. Svitolina drew a forced error from the 29-year-old, who answered back with a great lob near the net. 

She overcame the deficit with an ace down the T that forced deuce, but didn’t stop the inevitable from coming. After a net-front crosscourt winner, the Ukrainian was gifted the victory with a Halep return into the net to finish beautifully in 1 hour and 16 minutes. 

“It was a great match,” said Svitolina during her on-court interview. “I was excited going into this because I know how big of a fighter Simona is and I had to bring my best game today. I think it was a great match and I really enjoyed it and am extremely happy with the win.”  Standing in her way would be either former US Open champion Angelique Kerber or 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who took out 2020 champion Naomi Osaka