Elina Svitolina sent out a strong statement to the rest of the draw with a commanding 6-2 6-3 win over Tatjana Maria in the first of the 2018 US Open.
The Ukrainian disappointingly lost 7-6(3) 4-6 6-1 to the German in the opening round at Wimbledon and she was clearly determined to avoid a similar fate this time.
On the grass courts, Svitolina allowed Maria to dictate play for too much of the match. However, she has clearly learnt from that defeat as she was far more aggressive today.
The World No.3 attacked the German’s serve from the start and broke her three times as she raced through the opener 6-2.
Svitolina had clearly added an extra tactic to her game as she came in to the net whenever possible and clinically finished off points. Allied to her impressive ball-striking from the baseline, this enabled her to rack up ten winners in the first set.
Maria seemed stung by the way things were going and she fought hard in the second set as Svitolina struggled to maintain her sky-high standards. However, the Ukrainian still managed to break her in the first game and open up a 5-3 lead.
This meant the World No.70 would have to hold to stay in the match. And the pressure told as she made a couple of errors to gift Svitolina three match points, and then hit a backhand into the net on the third to end the contest.
“I think I played really good tennis today,” the Ukrainian said in her press conference. “I was confident in my fitness and I went out there with a clear plan.”
“(When I lost) that match (to Maria) in Wimbledon, I didn’t feel so well. I was struggling physically a little bit.”
“Today going into the match, it was a completely different story. I was playing well, I knew what I had to do and it was just a matter of if I could execute. It showed that I analysed that loss at Wimbledon well.”
Is Svitolina poised for a good run?
Last year in New York, the Ukrainian produced her best run at the US Open when she reached the fourth round before losing to Madison Keys.
And she now has a great chance to improve on that showing as she is on course to contest a winnable match in the round of 16 against either 9th seed Julia Goerges or 19th seed Anastasija Sevastova.
To reach that stage, Svitolina will have to beat the winner of the match between Wang Qiang and Irina-Camelia Begu in round three. If she plays like she did today, she should have no trouble.
“I believe I can play well,” the World No.3 said. “Hard courts suit my game. I had a good run in Montreal and Cincinnati, so each match gives me that little confidence going to the next match.”
