Australian Open 2019: Svitolina rallies late to win three-set thriller
Elina Svitolina played the most physical match of 2019 to come out with the win at the Australian Open Saturday afternoon. With Shuai Zhang being a dominant player throughout the match, she slipped up in the late stages to give the Ukrainian a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 win at Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne Park. The match saw both of them dealing with minor injuries that took their toll during the near three-hour match making it a true fight to the finish.
The Ukrainian won their last meeting in Miami and was clearly a much stronger player three years later. She carries a match win with a set shutout against the soon to be 30-year-old and would eye another step in the right direction. She had yet to drop a set would try not to do that against Zhang.
The world number 42 had a tough challenge against Dominika Cibulkova in the opening round needing three sets to win her opening round. She eventually gained an easy win to prepare for a larger challenge on the big stage.
It came to start with Svitolina recording a shutout of Zheng having a very smooth service in the first, setting the bar high. The 24-year-old got ahead by a couple break points but couldn’t lock down the win. Zhang forced deuce gaining both AD point chances to hold off the number six seed. After Svitolina held the third, Zheng got into a pattern but still had some challenges from the Ukrainian.
Her third service game in the sixth was a struggle as she lost a chance to end it leading to her finding ways of getting further attempts. Despite six breaks and saving a few from Svitolina, Zhang ran out of challenges and two games down in a 12-minute ordeal. The 29-year-old tried to make up the ground lost coming forward against Svitolina scoring net points to earn break points. On her third attempt, Zhang got it on a great backhanded winner firing it away from the sixth seed.
With the easiest service game that got her levelled at four-all, she went after Svitolina with a tactic that has been the Ukrainian’s main weakness. During the ninth, it came clear as a bell with the Chinese tactician coming into the court and scoring points that the sixth seed couldn’t get to. It was 5-4 with the ball in hand to try and complete the turnaround. She smashed out to 40-0 putting Svitolina in real trouble.
She saved a break point but couldn’t stop the inevitable as Zhang secured the set in 55 minutes. She gave a beating to Svitolina’s second serve that only had 5 of 15 from it. With double the winners and many more wins at the net, it would become a strategy that Zhang can turn into success.
The Ukrainian took a break from the court to quickly regroup and came out starting the second with a full court press of the Chinese player. After a strong hold, Svitolina got aggressive with the forehand forcing Zhang to deuce.
It didn’t prove to be enough as her returns landed wide with another being checked out only to bring the game to an end with the ball landing wide on Hawkeye. While it was a break that got away from her, Svitolina still held firm on serve putting the 29-year-old under pressure.
She felt none, keeping the Ukrainian scoreless in the fourth to show her intentions to pull off an upset. It continued to be a tight race between the players but after Svitolina gained the lead back after five, she called for the trainer to check out a neck issue that she felt concerned about.
She chose not to take a medical timeout walking back out to face Zhang’s aggressive service. It resulted in another hold for the world number 42 who went after a break in the seventh but couldn’t change up the rallies.
They continued to hold serve through the next two games before a real push for the break came from Svitolina who dictated the tenth. She held Zheng back just enough to win on a forehand ending the set in 49 minutes.
It was a very tight battle where they both had similar stats but the skills from the Ukrainian were enough to give her time to recover taking a medical timeout during the set break. “It was very hot conditions so I was a little bit struggling and left everything on the court today,” the number six seed said.
After getting checked out and having the time to get the issue worked on, she returned to action serving the first only to see it broken. Zhang was a force that couldn’t be stopped taking her hold before scoring a big double break in the third. Svitolina wasn’t playing her level of tennis with the second serve practically dead with one of six made for a point. It was fuel for the fire of the world number 42 who was in fine form.
With a sizable deficit in her way, the 24-year-old found a way to convert a break in the fourth before trying to recover lost ground. She held in the fifth after a Hawkeye challenge from Zhang didn’t go her way. She then called for the trainer during the break to check her back feeling some sort of discomfort. She took a medical timeout to have that and her legs examined to make sure she could continue to play at the level needed to finish the match.
She came out with a serious hold in the sixth before dominating the seventh putting the ball in places she wanted it to go. It led to a break chance that Svitolina saved to force deuce. She had to put in a lot of running to compete with Zhang in the game that soon led to a win on a wide return from the 29-year-old. While it remained a tight battle between the two, Svitolina gained some momentum that allowed her to hold in the seventh before scoring a key double break to lead 5-3.
She went all in but came up short missing on a final rally that allowed Zhang to break Svitolina back in the ninth setting up a chance to go deep in the set. The Ukrainian knew that she had to avoid that at all costs to win the match and won the first point to make that point. She made sure to be at the ball each time it came back. It still wasn’t enough as the 29-year-old scored a great line drive winner for the game point which took them to the tenth after a return into the net from Svitolina.
Just when it looked as if the leverage changed, it was back in the hands of the sixth seed who gained the penultimate 6-5 lead hoping to break Zhang for the last time. A serious mistake came from Svitolina who stopped play to use one of her two challenges on a ball that landed right in front of her. When she saw that it had landed in, she immediately regretted doing it. She redeemed herself gaining match point on a backhand crosscourt.
It didn’t pan out but a second attempt watched a cross-court return smack the side of the net ending the match in 2 hours and 55 minutes with the Ukrainian letting out a burst of screams. When she gained her composure, she went over to Zhang’s bench to thank her for the amazing challenge while also showing true sportsmanship.
“It was a very tough match for the both of us,” Svitolina said during her on-court interview. “Sure, I played unbelievable tennis and hopefully we’ll see more of her tennis back in Melbourne.” “It was just a mental game and I just had to stay very strong. We were fighting until the very last point and then I just trying to stay out there as long as possible.”
With the day off she’ll relax and attempt to prepare for her round of 16 match to come against the winner between Elise Mertens and Madison Keys during the second week of play.