The third round stage begins on Friday with Elina Svitolina looking to continue her good run of form against Anna Blinkova. She will play the Russian for the second week running, having beat her fairly comfortably on her way to taking the title in Strasbourg, her first since returning from maternity leave.
Blinkova was the one to take out a vulnerable Caroline Garcia in the end, edging out the fifth seed in tight 4-6 6-3 7-5 win. The Russian’s aggression did work out although she may be worried about her serving numbers in the end, having hit eight double faults to five aces in the victory. “Also, it was very windy, so always taking the ball early was difficult. That’s why sometimes I was stepping in to be aggressive, sometimes returning from the back to disturb her a little bit, but also to not miss returns.” she said on her tactics.
Svitolina started poorly against Storm Hunter but took the match quite comfortably in the third set by the end, dropping just two further games from the moment she went down a set and break. She hit 18 winners in the second and third sets of the 2-6 6-3 6-1 win, showcasing a new level of aggression that was often missing in her pre-pregnancy stage. “I didn’t think I played that bad in the first set, but she was the better player on court. I had to regroup, refocus and try to bring my best game. The second and third sets were a good match from me.”
With Svitolina having comfortably handled this matchup just last week, it’s hard to see her dropping this one. She looks highly confident and motivated at this part, showing greater smarts and attacking more when necessary. There will always be the worry that she might run out of steam but it may require a stronger opponent than Blinkova to take her out at this stage. There will also be the possibility of a comedown for Blinkova after her win as is often customary after “big” wins.
Prediction – Elina Svitolina in straight sets