Svitolina schools Yastremska to reach round of 16 at US Open

Elina Svitolina celebrates a strong outcome against Dayana Yastremska in the third round of the US Open. 

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Dayana Yastremska was schooled to destruction at the US Open Friday night. Elina Svitolina  showed her the ropes playing beautiful tennis at Louis Armstrong Stadium to win 6-2, 6-0 at the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.

The up and coming Ukrainian took on her idol compatriot for the first time. In what was a long-awaited matchup, the two Ukrainians had plenty of tactics to use on one another leaving the fifth seed to prepare for anything that Yastremska brought to the hardcourt. The 19-year-old won more WTA titles faster than Svitolina that showed her ability to pull off an upset. With her experienced opponent having yet dropped a set the teen would need to pressure and keep it heavily with focus.

Yastremska served to open the match but erred twice, double-faulted and gave the break to Svitolina on a forehand shot going wide. Eight points went one way with the 24-year-old drawing errors from Yastremska who was not yet up to speed. Her points streak increased to nine before Svitolina’s first error ended one-way traffic. It didn’t take anything from the fifth seed as she watched the errors continue from Yastremska who fell three games down and two double faults committed.

The 24-year-old committed her first double but soon had a second recorded giving Yastremska a break chance. An ace from Svitolina forced deuce but her young opponent showed slight improvement warming up for the challenge. A failed challenge followed by a wide return blew her best chance to get on the board and instead sat 0-4. Opportunities to serve a good game came in the fifth when Svitolina erred enough to see the 19-year-old smash a pair of winners that ended her slide.

She fought well in the sixth but came up short of a break watching Svitolina hold on a break of deuce. Linking a second hold allowed Yastremska to get comfortable with her commitment level using it to test Svitolina. Serving for the set, the 24-year-old got into trouble with the first serve forehand and the sudden range of Yastremska who fought for a breakpoint. Svitolina put down her third ace and watched a fast return go long ending the first in 31 minutes. Having a better handing of her serve than Yastremska who made 19 unforced errors, the fifth seed was comfortably in control.

She rolled it into the second set earning two break points before taking the game from the teen. Consolidating the break was a piece of cake as her opponent racked more errors on the return sending her back into a grown deficit. A fourth double fault troubled the 32^nd seed who despite playing a great 20 shot rally was once again broken apart. Svitolina carried on and held firm in the fourth as her opponent made primary mistakes that only led to getting to the finish easier for her compatriot.

.@ElinaSvitolina advances to the second week of the @usopen for a third time with a victory over compatriot Dayana Yastremska --> https://t.co/8xgdgojEAD pic.twitter.com/0y0Rmfgklh

— WTA (@WTA) August 31, 2019

A triple break for the world number five set her to serve for the match in the sixth where she handled a tricky drop shot but earned two match points to end 54 minutes with Yastremska recording her 36^th unforced error.

“It was definitely a special moment for Ukraine,” Svitolina said to Andrew Krasny after the match. “Me and Dayana are from the same city in Odessa so it was a special match for the both of us.”

While they didn’t play evening, the fifth seed had a terrific outcome with a serve percentage above 80 percent and notched just seven winners and outscored the teen 54-27 “I think I was very consistent from the baseline,” she said. “I was serving very good at the moments that I had to and in the end, I think the experience played a little bit tonight and very pleased so far with the way I’m playing and looking forward to the next match.”

  

Svitolina takes down Venus Williams in straight sets

Elina Svitolina wins a hard fight against Venus Williams at the 2019 US Open

Elina Svitolina had to work hard for the second time in the late end of her match but moved on at the US Open Wednesday. The fifth seed defended and held back Venus Williams more than a few times in the match but won 6-4, 6-4 at Louis Armstrong Stadium in the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center. It marked the third win against the tennis superstar and the second to come on the hardcourt surface.

A fourth meeting put the two in their second grand slam face-off where the leverage stood with the Ukrainian. Svitolina has a win over the tennis veteran on the hard courts giving her a shot at pulling together another one to improve her US Open record. The challenge Svitolina faced against the young American was a tough start but facing Williams gave her an opportunity to take the offense and dictate.

Svitolina began with good returns that drew errors from Williams to earn the early break. The 39-year-old tried to step up but let a few points slip away and give Svitolina the hold. She held firm to avoid going a double break down with a serve to love in the third. Going for the break, Williams tried to notch a break but errors kept her from clinching the coveted AD point. After three breaks, the 39-year-old hit another forehand long to sit two down.

She battled hard on serve in the fifth to recover but Svitolina was still on lock during her service game to contain a lead. Her strengths helped get her a double break on Williams to sit with a 5-2 stand and the tennis veteran close to sitting in a large hole. Frustrations continued to cause Williams to commit unforced errors losing her shot for the break. On a second attempt, a good rally ended with Svitolina sending a crosscourt return just long to make it 5-3.

Cutting in closer for Williams was a heavy task as she overcame the mistakes to force deuce in the ninth showing key patience. Her second double fault handed Svitolina a third set point but was canceled out with a backhand return just missing wide. The door opened for Williams after the second break where another long ball from the Ukrainian put her down a game from evening up. With the need to hold off her opponent’s comeback, Svitolina battled hard to defend her end and on her fourth set point, it came on William’s 23^rd error ending 49 minutes.

After a short break off court, Williams returned to open the second set with a strong service game. Adding a break put the former world number one on the right track making good runs for the point while increasing the difficulty on rallies for Svitolina. Overcoming a 0-40 gap in the third gave Williams a chance on deuce and get a 3-0 in the set. When it looked as if Venus had the problems off her shoulders, they returned only to leave the door wide open for Svitolina.

The errors in the fourth allowed the fifth seed to hold off a late push from Williams before breaking her with errors drawn out to consolidate. Movement from the 39-year-old also lessened on court leading to a complete comeback for Svitolina. The lead change came next with Williams committing her fourth double fault of the set and sixth total negating the start she put together.

Elina Svitolina reacts to a missed point during her second-round match against Venus Williams at the 2019 US Open 

Svitolina had a fifth game under her belt cruising through her service in the eighth to play for the match with her opponent in trouble. Committing a seventh double fault was how the ninth game began for Williams. Despite getting back the lead, the Ukrainian forced deuce and gained a match point only to be away from a perfect crosscourt return from Williams. A big mistake from the 39-year-old handed the fifth seed a second try but played long ball to get her to struggle with getting the ball over the net. The added pressure didn’t deter Svitolina who played eight breaks and 16 minutes but came up short to break Williams for the victory.

The 24-year-old was left with one chance left to get it done or see the match become harder. Drawing errors from the American was the key to her serving for the match and with a sixth attempt at getting into the third round, it was over on a long return from Williams to end the day in 1 hour and 52 minutes.

“It was a really incredible match,” Svitolina said to Pam Shriver of ESPN. “It was the best I’ve played making it really special to play Venus who pushed me to raise my level.” When asked about the turnaround Williams made winning seven of eight, the fifth seed responded about her tactics.

“I had to stay very focused and play every point to the last one and try to put one extra ball over the net,” she said. “I was expecting her to raise her level and she’s very experienced player and knows how to handle the moments like this. I was expecting a very tough and we could see in the end that a few points decided it all.” With the gratefulness of getting her match done under weather conditions, the Ukrainian would go into Friday awaiting either compatriot Dayana Yastremska or Rebecca Peterson in the third round.

Vondrousova pens massive defeat of Konta to enter French Open final

Marketa Vondrousova was on a mission to become a finalist at the French Open Friday. The 19-year-old who was in her third year of competition on the clay courts, pulled off another major victory taking down 26^th seeded Johanna Konta her sixth straight sets victory 7-5, 7-6(2) on Court Simone Mathieu on the grounds of Rolland Garros. It marked the first time the Czech had ever made it to a major final and stood tall as a high contender for a slam championship.

In what was the penultimate match of their careers was also their third meeting and second this season. Konta went the distance against the 19 year old in Rome where she ran away with the victory on Rome’s clay courts. Showing so much strength on the surface, Konta marked her second career semifinal in a major and the one she hoped would send her to Saturday’s final.

Vondrousova had never gone anywhere close to this level of competition in any of the big tournaments during the regular season. With her yet to have dropped a set, the Czech teen wanted nothing more than to keep that up as she faced the British number one. With a guarantee of a new French Open champion, it would be up to both of them to determine who from their end would enter the final match in Paris.

The teen earned first dibs at serving but was quickly broken due to back to back double faults. The British number one consolidated a serve to love to take a quick one way run of the set. Before she could get comfortable with her offense, the 28-year-old faced Vondrousova pushing back with a hold in the third. The fourth was the most highly contested as the young Czech looked to keep Konta in reach. The Brit forced deuce saving the first of five break points but couldn’t lock down an AD point.

The failure of losing ground was made up as she managed to break back Vondrousova quickly in the fifth. The set began to quicken with both handling serve that lasted three games and Konta standing with a 5-3 lead. In an effort to avoid giving away the set on serve, Vondrousova saved two set points to force deuce. The 19-year-old avoided a third before getting her own chance to lock down the game.

The Brit served for it a second time but drew errors twice to hand the Czech break point. She leveled it at five-all with her 16^th winner to send the set deep with the ball in hand. She pressured Konta to err for consecutive points before easily putting the 11^th game to rest. She kept the assault on Konta’s game running to reach a break chance for the set that ended with the Brit trying to set up for the return but instead watched the ball catch the inside of the court to end 55 minutes. Vondrousova outscored Konta by a minimal amount but had the better serve output that got her in position to gain more control.

She held serve to start the second but lost the next two with Konta converting a break in the third. The short break was all that occurred through seven games as each held firm through the next four giving up no more than one or two points to the returner. With the break in hand, Konta continued to lead but had Vondrousova at her heels looking for a shot at leveling back. Konta avoided that from happening to push the Czech to the baseline where she erred on Deuce to hand the Brit her shot at forcing the decider.

The Czech denied her that key break in the ninth and pushed her to either do it on her own or send the two nearer to a set tiebreak. Vondrousova responded well on the return side that included a great stance near the net where she gave it right back to the Brit that ultimately sent them into extra frames. The 19-year-old secured the hold in the 11^th to serve for the match just as the rain began to fall harder. Konta refused to go down in flames and started the 12^th with a well-placed lob at the net.

Pressing the issue at hand, Konta drew errors from the Czech before scoring a line drive winners that gave her a chance to force a third set with the tiebreak left to contest. Vondrousova got the first two points before Konta got on the board. When the Brit gained her second, the 19-year-old already had the lead at 3-2. Her two points would be the last the 28-year-old would win at Roland Garros as Vondrousova went on to take the next three straight for match point which she didn’t let get away ending another brilliant run that took her 1 hour and 45 minutes to do.

 “It was a very tough match today,” Vondrousova said during her on-court interview. “I’m happy that I kept my nerves at the end and I’m just so happy with everything here.” She will take on Australian powerhouse Ashleigh Barty who stopped the final from becoming an all-teen matchup with her three-set win over American Amanda Anisimova.

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.