French Open 2023: Elina Svitolina vs Anna Blinkova preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds. and pick | Roland Garros
Match Details
Fixture: (PR) Elina Svitolina vs Anna Blinkova.
Date: June 2, 2023.
Tournament: French Open 2023.
Round: Third round (Round of 32).
Venue: Paris, France.
Category: Grand Slam.
Surface: Outdoor clay.
Prize money: €49,600,000.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel, NBC Sports, Peacock TV | Canada - TSN | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Ten.
Elina Svitolina vs Anna Blinkova preview
Former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina will face off against Anna Blinkova in the third round of the 2023 French Open on Friday.
Svitolina knocked out last year's Roland Garros semifinalist Martina Trevisan in the first round. She was up against qualifier Storm Hunter in the second round. The Ukrainian trailed 4-0 in the opening set, but she showed signs of some resistance by claiming the next couple of games.
Hunter took command of the match once again as she bagged the next two games to capture the set. She went up a break to lead 2-1 in the second set, but Svitolina turned the tables on her by sweeping five of the next six games to take the set.
Svitolina was completely in charge of the proceedings by now. The final set was quite one-sided as the 28-year-old dropped just one game in it to wrap up a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 comeback victory.
A straight-sets win over Ysaline Bonaventure put Blinkova into the second round, where she took on World No. 5 Caroline Garcia. The Russian lost serve early on in the first set and was unable to catch up to her opponent after that, thus costing her the opener.
Blinkova got broken at the very start of the second set, but she reeled off the next five games to go 5-1 up. She faltered while trying to close out the set at this juncture, but she managed to do so successfully on her second attempt. The Russian secured an early break of serve in the deciding set and then served for the match at 5-4.
Blinkvoa held two match points, but Garcia played some fearless tennis to secure a break of serve to level the score. The Russian broke back immediately in the next game and served for the match yet again at 6-5. She wasted another five match points before ultimately closing out the contest on her eighth match point to win 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Elina Svitolina vs Anna Blinkova head-to-head
Svitolina leads Blinkova 1-0 in the head-to-head. She won their recent encounter in the final of last week's Strasbourg Open in straight sets.
Elina Svitolina vs Anna Blinkova odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Elina Svitolina vs Anna Blinkova prediction
Both players staged a comeback from a set down to book their place in the third round. While Svitolina's turnaround went far more smoothly against Hunter, Blinkova had to weather a storm from Garcia but managed to come out on top in the end.
The duo hit just three more unforced errors compared to the winners in the previous round. They played a largely clean match, though Blinkova threw in eight double faults, which could prove to be her undoing if she does the same in the next round.
The Russian is known to get quite nervy during big moments. She's bound to feel the pressure in the next round as she'll be aiming to reach the fourth round of a Major for the first time in her career.
Svitolina is currently on a comeback following maternity leave. She's still an elite defender, especially on clay, but it's her willingness to be more aggressive that's yielding rich dividends. She defeated Blinkova just last week in a convincing fashion. The result is likely to be the same this time around as well.
Pick: Elina Svitolina to win in three sets.