Elina Svitolina beats Anna Blinkova again to reach fourth round at the French Open

Elina Svitolina celebrates a huge win at the French Open against Anna Blinkova. 

Elina Svitolina went the distance to win a dramatic match at the French Open Friday. In a second meeting against Anna Blinkova, the Ukrainian came back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 on court Simone Mathieu on the grounds of Roland Garros. It marked the first round of 16 for Svitolina since 2020 and a place in week two.

The two met for the second in a week, ever since their battle in the Strasbourg final, which the Ukrainian won. Svitolina dominated their match, and in her first two back at Roland Garros, the 28-year-old brought fire into her game and lit up her opponents. Blinkova had it tough on Philippe-Chatrier coming back from a set and a break down to defeat Caroline Garcia. It took the 24-year-old three hours and eight match points to get it done.

It was the second top-ten win of her career and her best result in a grand slam to date. Svitolina carried a six-match winning streak in France while improving her rank to get into the top 200. With elements of her game in check, the 28-year-old focused on keeping her grip against Blinkova and making the round of 16.

The Strasbourg finalist opened the match with a hold of the Ukrainian, who came out strong with two winners. The 24-year-old responded with a break to love, jumping ahead of her opponent early. Svitolina broke back in the third, but on serve in the fourth, she suffered a double fault. She managed to hold the fourth, but Blinkova anted up on a serve to love during the following game.

The 24-year-old kept up the aggression, all while her opponent’s game dropped on two double faults. Blinkova took the break and consolidated in the seventh, with four winners. Though it was the longest game of the match, she appeared to have more problems than her game on the court. Blinkova coasted the victory on serve for the set, earning free points on Svitolina’s errors to take the first in 35 minutes. “It was not a great first set for me,” said Svitolina. “I was not moving well. I was not playing my best, but I had to fight and try to find my good game.”

Svitolina’s three double faults and 21 total errors made it a near cakewalk for the 24-year-old, who had ten winners to her name and a serve percentage above 60. The underperformance of the Ukrainian’s first serve had her in a tough position to come back a set down. During the set break, the Ukrainian called out to the trainers to get drops put in her eyes due to irritation. When she opened scoring in the second set, the 28-year-old achieved three breakpoints on Blinkova, holding enough to lead the way.

Blinkova’s aggression marched on, getting to the ball in time to strike her next shot. Svitolina managed the challenges, that the 24-year-old brought into the game and notched a break after three breaks. Of the following 11 points played through two games, Svitolina won eight, giving her a 4-0 run over her opponent. The 28-year-old achieved the triple break on Blinkova, only to be denied a chance to shut out the set.

The 24-year-old broke back in the sixth, consolidating her efforts in a second straight victory. Svitolina returned to serve for her second attempt, holding Blinkova to a point before capping the second in 34 minutes on an ace down the T. Svitolina improved the first serve, winning 79 percent, with help from the four aces and 12 winners.

At the start of the third, she challenged the service of Blinkova, getting into breakpoint position on the fifth point. The 24-year-old forced deuce in response, going three breaks before she held. The Ukrainian made quick work of the second, intent on breaking down her opponent with speed play. Svitolina broke her opponent in the third, serving to love on a forehand winner to gain a 3-1 lead.

Blinkova turned the momentum in her favor in the fifth, holding Svitolina to a pair of points, then going for broke in the sixth. She fought on deuce where the two players went two breaks, with Blinkova producing breakpoints. The break leveled the score, and her service hold in the seventh gave her a short winning streak.

The Ukrainian fell behind on serve in the eighth but won the next two points to reach game point. An eighth double fault brought Blinkova back into contention but answered well for the AD point. She served up a solid winner to make it four-all, leaving no comfort room for her opponent in the business end. She put the pressure on Blinkova, who watched the experience tennis star break her apart and earn a chance to win the match on serve.

The 24-year-old stepped up against Svitolina to use her aggressive style and fire winners that the Ukrainian couldn’t get back. It pushed them to the brink, with Blinkova serving in the 11th. Svitolina fired two winners to get out front but erred three times on long balls. Blinkova opened the door on errors from the serve, notching a third to hand the Ukrainian the break back.

Svitolina felt the pressure to serve it out once more in the 12th, missing on critical points by a short margin. Blinkova had a break chance but at the end of a long rally, smashed it high. Svitolina gained match point on a beautiful crosscourt winner but lost it on an error into the net. Her second attempt on a lob near the net fell long of the baseline, keeping Blinkova alive.

The Ukrainian caught a break on an error for her third match point. The 28-year-old made it count after a 21-shot rally, that ended with a well-placed winner, ending the battle in 2 hours and 16 minutes. “I decided I’m just gonna leave everything out there,” Svitolina said after the match. “Just because I was serving for the match against the wind, but in the end, I was extremely happy to finish that backhand down the line, giving it a thousand percent.”  The two played 186 points, with the margin of victory under ten for Svitolina, who was happy to get through a different match-up than last week.

“I was just trying to give my everything. I was not feeling amazing today, time to time, but in the end, playing well under pressure in the third was really special.” She will prepare to face ninth-seeded Daria Kasatkina, who has been raging through her opponents and prepared to give Svitolina a fight to the end.