Elina Svitolina punches third career ticket to round three at Wimbledon

Elina Svitolina serving during her second round match with Elise Mertens at the Championships Wimbledon. 

Elina Svitolina upped her game in a lopsided match at the Championships Wimbledon. The Ukrainian had a beautiful performance against Elise Mertens, who found her moment but couldn’t break through in the decider in a 6-1, 1-6, 6-1 score line on No. 3 Court at the All England Tennis Club.  

The two met for the seventh time and first, since 2021, when the Belgian picked up her second victory against the Ukrainian. Svitolina put on a good show at No. 1 Court, taking down veteran star Venus Williams in straight sets. With her sights on Mertens, the 28-year-old prepped for a tough outing against the Belgian. The world number 28 survived a scare in the first set against Viktoria Hruncakova. It put her in a position to vie for a 21st consecutive second-round win in majors. In their first battle on clay, both players have their sights on impressing their supporters to make the round of 32.

Svitolina opened the match but gave up an error to bring it to deuce with Mertens. The Belgian challenged for an early break, but even two winners couldn’t stop the Ukrainian from holding serve. Mertens held the second despite a double fault committed on the second point. Svitolina held her opponent to a point, then went for the break in the fourth on a second double fault from the 27-year-old.

The 28-year-old consolidated the break, holding the fifth and capturing the double break for a commanding 5-1 stand. Mertens struggled with issues on the court, going down quickly by the Ukrainian, earning a shutout for the set that took 23 minutes to complete. Svitolina played the first serve near perfect, missing two points of the 18 from her side. In terms of errors, the Ukrainian recorded one to her opponent’s 10. Mertens suffered issues with her offense but came back on court with urgency.

The Belgian performed better to open the second set, taking charge of her attacks to achieve the hold. She made no errors against Svitolina in the second, taking the break with ease. A pattern arose from Mertens, who controlled beautifully on serve in third, limiting the errors from her service. She drew errors from the Ukrainian, who went from holding solid in the first to bringing little to the action.

By the fifth game, it was all Mertens, who had the double break and another service in hand. Svitolina somehow managed to stop the winning ways of the 27-year-old, putting down two winners to erase a double fault. It didn’t stop Mertens from leveling the match, scoring a shutout on serve with a smash that ended the second in 29 minutes. During the break, Svitolina called the trainer to get eyedrops put in to stop the irritation she dealt with.

When the third got underway, the Ukrainian rose to the occasion, putting down a terrific service. She challenged Mertens on serve in the second, trading points until the break opportunity arrived. The 28-year-old achieved the break, taking control back by drawing errors from Mertens in the third. The Belgian refused to give up another double break to the Ukrainian, getting through the fourth on errors from her challenger.

Svitolina opened the fifth with an ace down the line, fighting through a mixed bag of returns against Mertens, who forced deuce. Remaining focused, the Ukrainian handled the challenges from the 28th seed to take a 4-1 lead. Svitolina denied Mertens a must-hold situation in the sixth game, scoring the break that put her in place to serve for the match. The 28-year-old blasted through her service, gaining the errors that gave her the upset after 1 hour and 23 minutes.

“I’m really pleased with the win today and just really happy that I get another chance to play another match here,” said Svitolina after the match. “On grass, things can happen, so you just have to accept and move on,” she said about how the match went down. “I was playing really good in the first set, and Elise came back really strong, serving good, and just lost my momentum, but in the third set, I tried to move my legs quicker a little bit, and here I am.”

With her third appearance in round three, she’ll take on Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in their sixth matchup since 2019.