Azarenka ends Svitolina's title defense at Italian Open

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Elina Svitolina’s title defense came to a sudden halt at the BNL Internazionali D’Italia late Tuesday night. Victoria Azarenka was a relentless force that she couldn’t stop and with a long rain delay that did not help her gain back control, the fifth seed was sent packing 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 on Centrale Court at Foro Italico.

The two got together for the third time and the first on clay with the two time defending champion challenged right off the racket. The Belorussian did well to show her strengths against Shuai Zhang on Monday to prepare herself for to add to the two wins she has against the Ukrainian. The downside for Svitolina is the minute amount of competition on the clay courts this season. With that being a major issue and whether her knee is at 100 percent leaves the unknown thought of whether she can make it through the first set. The Belorussian has shown no signs of such physical injuries giving her a heavy advantage before the first ball toss.

Azarenka chose to test the serve of Svitolina who did well by allowing the Belorussian just one point before securing the game. Azarenka followed suit with a good fight that let her edge the Ukrainian for the service hold. Svitolina went along with the pace she set and quickly reeled in the first break as the unforced errors were racking up for her opponent. To avoid a wide gap, Azarenka battled hard to hold Svitolina off for the break in the fifth putting her a game down.

She served herself into a hole giving the Ukrainian three break points in the sixth but saved them with errors from across the court. Svitolina erred just enough to let her off the hook and level the score at three apiece. A light rain began to fall during the seventh with the 24-year-old struggling with the first serve notching her second double fault. Azarenka got in position for the break win but a line drive return fell wide to force deuce.

Each got a chance with the AD point but with the Belorussian erring on her chance to gain leverage, she handed Svitolina one more to put it away and take point. Andrew Bettles came out to have a few words with the fifth seed telling her to be strong with the second serve and go after the opportunities that Azarenka brought on the return. None came during the Belorussian’s service game as she improved with terrific groundstrokes and key backhanders that caused the fifth seed trouble.

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Despite committing her fourth double fault, she managed to lock down a 5-4 hold with Azarenka serving to stay in the set. Svitolina sensed her moment to take the break and achieved the goal with a forceful return game that ended things in 47 minutes. The near two dozen unforced errors from Azarenka was the main reason for Svitolina to gain the lead in the match.

Rain fell down heavily at the start of the second set which didn’t give Svitolina much pleasure as she lost the opening game to Azarenka with a fifth double fault. Before play resumed, officials suspended play as the rain fell harder sending everyone off the court. After a 15-minute delay play resumed with Azarenka serving only to be blanked by Svitolina who came out warmed up for the break back.

Three breaks of serve were in the books before they took another rain delay that lasted five minutes. When they resumed, Azarenka managed to hold the fourth and gain a two-game buffer. The delays were becoming a problem for the Ukrainian as she struggled to focus playing in the rain to hand Azarenka a triple break to lead 4-1. Rain started to fall down even harder which ultimately caused the match to be suspended for a second time with the covers going over the court.   

The play was delayed for more than 90 minutes with some moments where it didn’t look as if the match was going to continue. The time off court helped the Ukrainian who came out fresh and get herself mentally in check sitting three games down. The serve began in the hands of the Belorussian who drew more unforced errors from Svitolina who was trying to be aggressive.

Instead of vying for a break, the fifth seed found herself facing a decider with the nerves returning on serve. The Ukrainian was attacked on the second serve racing for the quick returns in the exposed court. A long return handed the Belorussian the set and a shot at keeping the pressure on Svitolina.

The Ukrainian wouldn’t let that happen at the start of the third and came out fighting for every point against Azarenka. With plenty of force, she edged the Belorussian on serve and secured the break to be ahead. The 29-year-old went after the second serve of Svitolina’s only to see her counterattack and hold in the second. Looking to maintain authority on court, the 24-year-old scored the double break that had her up 3-0 with the goal on the horizon.

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Even after Azarenka found a way to hold serve against the Ukrainian, the fifth seed was on fire blasting away the ball so well to produce another victory and regain her three-game margin. When it looked as if the former world number one was almost out, she scored a key break that cut Svitolina’s lead in half. The fifth seed answered back by painting the lines with precision to take a penultimate 5-2 stance.

Serving for the match, Svitolina got behind with Azarenka getting the jump on her in the eighth. The 24-year-old even things out with more shots near the lines to reach match point. She blew a smash return to bring the Belorussian to deuce and saw it get away from her with Azarenka scoring the AD point on a line drive.

With the big point, she took care of her serve and shutout Svitolina in the ninth to continue fighting. The 24-year-old needed a strong first serve but got into trouble running down balls during the rally. It wasn’t until the final point where she got the last laugh with a return winner. They got even at 30-all with the next point being huge for both. Azarenka got it with great court position to smash it and reach another break point. The Ukrainian denied her with an ace but erred with a long crosscourt.

Azarenka showed no mercy when she put the ball where she wanted resulting in a victory after two breaks setting up more tennis. On serve in the 11^th, Azarenka conducted an outstanding position inside the court only to err on game point to force deuce. After three breaks, the game went to the Belorussian with a chance at making it her match. Svitolina was on the edge of defeat and despite saving two match points, the victory went to Azarenka who had enough energy left in the tank to conclude a thriller that took 2 hours and 16 minutes to finish.

After a total of 175 points played, both Svitolina and Azarenka had extreme numbers in the unforced errors to winners ratio. In the end, Azarenka’s qualities managed to get her out of trouble and into the third round where she’ll await the winner between Garbine Muguruza and Danielle Collins on Thursday.

Andreescu scores massive win to make BNP Paribas Open Final

Bianca Andreescu proved that she belongs in the BNP Paribas Open Final. Despite an immense amount of fatigue, the young Canadian came through to win a tight three-setter against Elina Svitolina 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 on Stadium One at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden Friday night. The victory gave the 18-year-old a humungous advance to her first WTA premier mandatory final and second of the season.

This was their first meeting and in a huge semifinal that both worked hard to get to, the match would be heavily serious for the Ukrainian to control. The last two matches extended into three sets where they combined for five hours on court. With her game at a higher level than the young Canadian, the 24-year-old eyed to quickly be in form and take over the match. While being underestimated, Andreescu hasn’t yet faced anyone who played at their best. With Svitolina in her crosshairs, the 18-year-old looked to pull off a full court press and continue her odyssey.  

Nerves got the best of her opening serve as she committed errors to give Svitolina the break. The 24-year-old contained a hold of serve before breaking the Canadian to gain a comfortable 3-0 stance. Andreescu saw the trouble that she was in and blasted out a triple break opportunity in the fourth. The Ukrainian saved one but couldn’t force deuce as her grip of the match lessened.

The Canadian started showing comfort on serve that allowed her to secure a service hold in the fifth. With two consecutive wins under her belt, Andreescu went for a third to earn a double break and level the score. She clearly had the momentum taking a fourth straight which led the world number six to take a chat with her coach Andrew Bettles. The need to gain back control was the main subject of his conversation and how to attack Andreescu’s forehand to gain back control while the opportunity was there.

The chances to counter didn’t come as Andreescu got creative on her ball placement which put her ahead in the eighth. Svitolina rallied to deuce where a drawn error from the teen opened the door but was slammed shut by a double fault. A second straight gave Andreescu the AD point which she won on a crosscourt winner.

With five straight and Svitolina running out of time, Andreescu served for the set with a full shutout to sweep through the set in 32 minutes. Despite not having a strong serve, the ten winners that she had did a number on the sixth seed who only had two and suffered on the first winning just 33 percent from it.

When it looked as if Svitolina would be able to turn things around, Andreescu came in to ruin it with a serious break that made it seven straight games. The teen’s winning streak finally came to a halt as the world number six found a way to break back and get on track. Doing so was not an easy task as she had a two-point buffer but made bad shots to get Andreescu to deuce. A missed opportunity for the 18-year-old allowed the Ukrainian to hold serve and be ahead for the first time since the third game of the previous set.

Andreescu wanted to get even in more ways than one but her efforts were a challenge on serve in the fourth where Svitolina was determined to win. After two long breaks of deuce, it was the 24-year-old with another break to lead 3-1. The Canadian tried to go for a break back but was unsuccessful as the sixth seed found her mark and slammed a crosscourt winner to widen the gap further. They both held serve through two games until Svitolina went for the set in the seventh that was challenged by Andreescu to hold. They went to deuce briefly before an error from the Canadian secured a deciding set for the Ukrainian to play after 41 minutes.

Svitolina had improved on the serve scoring nearly 70 percent which beat down Andreescu’s down to 33 as she racked up 18 unforced errors which took a toll on her second serve at 42 percent success. With that part of the match going her way, the Ukrainian wanted more but Andreescu was there to make it tough. She forced Svitolina to play deuce where drawn errors gave the 18-year-old the early break.

A consolidation of the hold made it 2-0 for the Canadian but gaining a third was out of the question as Svitolina played hard for the hold and had help from Andreescu’s errors. The 18-year-old had trouble again on serve but despite the pain she was feeling came out with the hold to recapitalize the two-game buffer. A serve to love was Svitolina’s first of the match which is what Bettles told her to keep up the energy and rip the forehand.

Andreescu’s coach Sylvain Bruneau tried to keep the 18-year-old confident by telling her that she was the better one out there. During the sixth, it was clear that Svitolina was the better of the two as she racked up seven straight points before Andreescu got a point. She picked up a second but fatigue played a role in the teen losing strength against the Ukrainian who showed little in being tired.

Andreescu somehow broke the sixth seed to gain back the lead but it wasn’t safe as she had to hold to become a major threat. She erred too many times in the eighth but rallied every break point to force deuce and land another crosscourt winner to take a pivotal 5-3 stand. Svitolina faced elimination and served the ninth gaining a 40-0 run before erring twice.

 A critical error got Andreescu to deuce opening the door for match point attempts. She got it on a line drive but lost it on a shot just long of the baseline. It was the only one she’d see in the game as Andreescu erred three times to give Svitolina the win. It was up to the 18-year-old to get it done on her own and went to deuce with the 24-year-old after coming back from 15-40. Despite losing two more match points, a fourth one came that ended a tense rally with a victory as Svitolina hit one more into the net ending the match in 2 hours and 12 minutes.  

“This is so incredible,” Andreescu said to Andrew Krasny after the match. “This past week has been a dream come true.” She thanked the fans and a number of people close to her as she had the stage to show her gratitude. She had 36 winners and 57 unforced errors that were truly brought out by Svitolina who pulled out all the stops in her defeat.

With a massive victory in her career, she will no await her opponent on Sunday as Belinda Bencic and Angelique Kerber fight for the right to go for the title.

Svitolina wins a marathon match to beat Barty at BNP Paribas Open

Elina Svitolina had the longest match of her career come at a point where making the quarterfinal was possible at the BNP Paribas Open Tuesday evening. The 24 year old went to hell and back against Ashleigh Barty who gave it her all only to run out of gas in a stunning three setter 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-4 on Stadium Four at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. It was the first time in the Ukrainian’s career that she made the last eight in the tournament and one she will never forget.

The series had been running one way for the Ukrainian and with her never getting beyond the fourth round, the history gives her a major advantage. She defeated Barty twice on hard courts the last two seasons with the one in Miami occurring in the round of 16. With her third try to get beyond the fourth round at Indian Wells, Svitolina’s strength had more than a shot at succeeding. Barty had yet to drop a set in the desert in her wins over Tatijana Maria and Jennifer Brady making her first top ten match an important one to be the stronger player.

She contained service to start the match before going on the prowl to break Svitolina. Despite not doing so, she continued to stand ahead on the score forcing the Ukrainian to level with her efforts. They stayed on serve with Svitolina playing slightly stronger while Barty had two double faults but stayed on serve through seven. The sixth seed called down coach Andrew Bettles who told her how to get Barty out of her comfort zone and stay with her own offense that was running well.

She took the positivity and secured another holds to be in a four-all tie with Barty. Svitolina’s consistency on both sides of the ball saw a break chance come together in the ninth but two saved break points helped Barty to deuce. She opened up the court forcing the sixth seed to run all over but errors ruined her chance to easily put it away. On a fourth break point chance, Svitolina got the win on a final error from the Australian to take the lead in the late stages.

On serve for the set, the Ukrainian committed her first double fault and got behind with the serve rattled. She handed Barty a triple break with another error before another fell wide to push into extra frames. With Svitolina down, Barty cruised to a service to love and attacked right from the first point of the 12^th.

Down 30-15, the world number six got aggressive to try and secure a tiebreak but went for a low shot that gave Barty set point. The Australian missed the line that saved Svitolina who gained an AD point on the Aussie’s error into the net. On a second AD point, a return from Barty landed long to go to a pivotal tiebreak. Barty went for the open court strategy that worked for two points but lost the lead with an error and good point winner from Svitolina.

It stayed tight until Barty delivered a crosscourt and line drive hit that forced the error for 5-3. She reached 6-3 for a chance at the set but lost all of them due to Svitolina’s determination to recover lost ground. Barty showed that she could still cover the court but errors ruined another chance that brought the two to seven-all. It was Svitolina’s turn to have set point at 8-7 but a huge serve from Barty erased it.

She thought she had Svitolina beat with another open court attack but watched the ball return land wide. Another chance for the Ukrainian to be successful finally came with the 9-8 lead that brought the set to an end on Barty’s forehand error finishing a dramatic one hour and six minute ordeal.

After Svitolina returned from a break off court, she got back into the mix with Barty going for the break but failed to get ahead. She kept Svitolina from forcing deuce to make a statement that she was nowhere near done. She went after the break in the third but the Ukrainian had the answers with big points. Her second double fault put her back for a moment but two big points kept her ahead on the score.

Three missed chances for Barty in the fourth were a huge moment for the world number six but one long ball and an ace from the Australian got her back on track. The 12^th seed got in front of the net to answer Svitolina and go to deuce. A costly error gave the 24 year old the break needed but a break back for Barty to cut the gap in half. Svitolina called Bettles down who told her to keep hitting, stay focused on every point and gave her ideas on how to counter the tactics of the 22 year old.

Gaining an advantage on the break was a tough task as Barty refused to go down on serve. She fought back Svitolina through a few breaks before securing the sixth that leveled the score. They both remained consistent on struggling with the serve but held through seven. A huge opportunity came for the 24 year old as she successfully broke Barty in the eighth to serve for the match. Barty’s defense answered Svitolina to gain a footing for break point which was given to her on a long ball from the Ukrainian.

The tenth was huge for Barty who needed the win to keep the match going. She had the lead but went to deuce on an error into the net. Svitolina scored a huge winner for match point but a thrilling rally ended with Barty’s return catching the line. She forced an error from the sixth seed but hit the ball too hard to return to deuce. She committed a bad return to give Svitolina a second chance but caught the line to deny a second match point.

A huge ace with the AD point clinched Barty to a five-all tie that got very tense for both players. Barty somehow pulled off a massive break to love which threatened a third set to be played if Svitolina couldn’t stop her. The 12^th spelled trouble for her as Barty reached set point four times but failed to put it away. She somehow got a fifth that Svitolina hit back wide enough to end the longest game of the match and move into a pivotal third set after 2 hour and 16 minutes elapsed.

There was nothing left but to play and see who could last the time and effort put on court and right from the start, it was the Australian who answered. Barty overcome a 40-15 stance from Svitolina to force deuce and went three breaks where her only AD point was enough for the break. A hold to love that hadn’t occurred since the fifth game of the first set gave the 22 year old an early lead. Svitolina denied her a third game win before calling for the physio who came on court to tape her right leg.

When the medical timeout was concluded, Barty served to open the fourth, got behind and forced deuce to save two break points. She secured the hold with a forceful forehand against Svitolina who was trailing this much for the first time. Giving up a third was not in her cards as she closed the break gap and won on a huge point to bring the margin to a game. After the win, Svitolina called for Bettles who told her to get underneath the ball and rip it while keeping her confidence level high.

A lot of effort from her part resulted in a break to make it 3-3 to completely erase Barty’s lead. A fight for the seventh was practically a tug of war but after two long breaks, Svitolina held to put the Australian under pressure. Barty fell apart at the wrong time giving the 24 year old triple break to clinch a 5-3 stand to serve for the match. Just when it looked as if Barty was done and dusted, she gained a break point but was quickly denied by a forced error. She proved that she was not willing to give in by gaining another break which was secured on a challenge that stunned Svitolina.

She brushed it aside in the tenth as Barty hand her two match points in the game but an ace brought her to deuce making it the fourth match point saved. A fifth would not come as she hit the ball back into the net that ended a thrilling 3 hour and 11 minute match which was the longest of the 2019 WTA season. “It was a very very tough match,” Svitolina said after the match. “When I woke up this morning I didn’t really expect that I would play three hours and so I was fighting until the last point.”

The effort gave her a fifth consecutive victory over the Australian that saw them tally 282 combined points with her outscoring Barty 143-139. “This was one of the toughest matches against her and she improves massively for the past year and has a great game. I’m sure well have many more matches in the future.” As for her, she will go into Wednesday needing all the rest possible to take on Marketa Vondroussova who was also experiencing her first quarterfinal in a premier mandatory.