Elina Svitolina roars to victory against Sofia Kenin at Wimbledon

Elina Svitolina celebates a victory against Sofia Kenin during the third round of the Championships Wimbledon. 

Elina Svitolina roared through the competition to make the fourth round at the Championships Wimbledon Friday. The 28-year-old dominated Sofia Kenin in straight sets, winning 7-6(3), 6-2 on Court Three at the All England Tennis Club. She bounced back late in the first set tiebreak, playing freely to take a two-match series lead on the American.

The two met for the sixth time and the first since 2019 when the Ukrainian took the lead at the WTA Masters. The wildcard remained firm in her efforts to keep playing at the AEC, speeding through three sets against Elise Mertens. The speed of her efforts set her up for potentially her most challenging opponent against the American. Kenin fed off her upset with Coco Gauff and dispatched Wang Xinyu in straight sets. Both prepared for a serious clash, in their first meeting on grass that would spell who had the momentum over the other.

Svitolina opened with a hold of serve, then watched as the qualifier served to love in her sixth match at Wimbledon. She dug in deep in the third, going five breaks against the Ukrainian until she got the break. They went back to serve in the next two when Svitolina broke Kenin to love for a three-all stance. They went back to service holds, taking them all the way to a tiebreak to determine a true leader.

Svitolina took the first pair of points before Kenin struck back with a pair of her own. By the change of ends, both players earned points on serve and a mini-break in hand. It all went one-sided, with Svitolina scoring a second mini-break, followed by two service points. On set point, the 28-year-old clinched the win she waited one hour and four minutes to attain against the American.

“It was good to win that first set,” said Svitolina to the BBC’s Jenny Drummond. “It was a really close one, and I was really happy that I could bounce back after being a break down.” The second serve of Kenin’s along, with her return points, stood out as the difference between the players and how the second would go.

Svitolina made a statement of stepping into the second set with authority, getting into the rallies to break Kenin. The Ukrainian backed up the break on serve in the second, beating down the confidence of her opponent. The American secured the third game on serve, but the wild card went back to work in the fourth and broke Kenin for the second time in the set.

Sitting comfortably on a 4-1 scoreline, Svitolina controlled her service game, placing easy winners across to Kenin. After notching her 21st winner, the 28-year-old got her 22nd to end a rally and sit a game away from the match. Kenin started the seventh game with a second ace before Svitolina answered with a winning return. Kenin scored a pair of redirected shots to keep the hope alive but faced Svitolina’s near-perfect service. The Ukrainian got to three match points in the eighth, winning it all after a four-shot rally capping a terrific performance in 1 hour and 32 minutes.

“I’m just enjoying it,” she said after the match. “I just really appreciate every moment I get on the court, and I wasn’t playing for a year and being at home, but I was looking forward to coming back and to play such an event like Wimbledon.” She’ll face Victoria Azarenka on Sunday, who she has yet to beat. “I’m gonna do everything possible to recover,” said Svitolina about her fourth-round matchup. “It’s always special to play here, and just looking forward to the next one.”