Elina Svitolina, a quarter-finalist in 2015, began her latest Roland-Garros campaign with victory over the dangerous Yaroslava Shvedova, another former quarter-finalist in Paris.
Elina Svitolina ignited her title challenge in Paris by passing the stern test provided by world No.45 Yaroslava Shvedova.
The fifth seed, champion in Rome earlier this month, leads the WTA with the most match wins in 2017 (32-6) following a 6-4, 6-3 triumph on Suzanne-Lenglen Court.
The 22-year-old now feels accustomed to entering tournaments as one of the contenders for the trophy. ”On one hand I have a lot of confidence, more than probably anyone else, because I won so many matches, and on the other hand, there is a pressure, there are expectations from me,” Svitolina said.
“I try to not have anything on my mind. Just go out there and do what I do the best, play my game, be really focused and keep it simple.”
It was a tricky opener for Svitolina; both players have previously graced the Roland-Garros quarter-finals, and it was the Kazakh who found her range first. A blistering inside-out backhand return winner enabled Shvedova to take the first break for 2-1. However, Svitolina restored parity, eager to take the early strike, and teased the errors from her opponent with some punchy forehands.
At 5-4, some remarkable retrieving, including a lob high up on the stretch against the back fence, was complimented by a clattering backhand return onto the baseline, and suddenly Svitolina had two set points. Another drop shot was chased down and the Ukrainian’s forehand passing shot did the damage.
A series of routine forehand one-two combinations helped Svitolina breeze through early service holds in set two, but Shvedova was proving difficult to break down and made several successful forays to the net.
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