WIMBLEDON: Eighth seed Elina Svitolina was always expected to win her opening match at Wimbledon, but her relief is more that one would expect from a top 10 player.
Taking to Court 18 at 11am on the opening day of the grand slam, the Ukranian rallied to a 7-5, 6-0, victory over Daria Gavrilova. Producing an emphatic performance with the help of 16 winners and winning 66% of the points behind her serve. Svitolina’s sole wobble occurred during the opening set, when she failed to serve out the set at 5-3, before regaining her momentum.
Coming into this year’s tournament, the grass hasn’t been Svitolina’s friend. Back-to-back first round losses in Birmingham and Eastbourne was the latest setback during what has been a roller coaster season. Since the Miami Open, Svitolina has lost her opening match in five out of seven tournaments played.
“Everyone is fit. Everyone now these days has a fitness coach, has a mental coach, is, like, 20 coaches. That’s why everyone is extremely ready to beat you when you step on the court.” Svitolina explained following her win over Gavrilova.
“That’s extremely tough. You have to be ready for that, for whatever comes.”
In terms of wins, Wimbledon is Svitolina’s worst-performing grand slam by a considerable margin. Monday’s triumph was her sixth at the tournament. 2017 is currently the only year where she has managed to win two or more matches in a row.
“Last year it was not so good but the year before it was a great run for me.” She commented about her record at the grand slam.
“I think I can play well on grass. I just need to be really focused on what I have to do on the court. That’s very important for me just to take one match at a time, to not think too much of what’s going on.”
In the second round, the 24-year-old will lock horns with Russia’s Margarita Gasparyan, who defeated Anna-Lena Friedsam 6-4, 6-4. Recording her first ever main draw win at Wimbledon. Gasparyan defeated Svitolina last month on the grass in Birmingham.
“I’m a little bit more prepared now. I’m feeling better.” Svitolina commented about her next match.
“I have recovered better from my injury, so I feel physically better. Gonna see on the day how I’m going to feel, but I will for sure try something a little bit different and on the return, on my serve, as well. So that’s the plan so far.”
“I will speak with my coach and probably he’s gonna watch back what I did wrong. It was quite a close match. It was only I think one break in the end, and I made some stupid decisions.”
The Dress
Shortly after her win, Svitolina took to social media to hit back at a comment made about the outfit she was wearing. An all-white dress that Nike describes as ‘bringing the sophisticated look of lace to the court.’ Although the £80 outfit hasn’t been a hit with everybody with some describing it as ‘basic.’
“I think it was not fair. It’s not fair for designers, because they put so much work into our kit.” She said.
“They put so much effort into it. And then to say something that it was, that there was no effort. I think it was not fair for them.”
Svitolina traveled to headquarters in Oregon last year. Praising the work involved before comparing the profession with the world of tennis.
“I actually went to the headquarters where I saw all the guys working behind the scenes. It’s the same for a tournament. We go to play the tournament, and we just play and we think it’s just everyday thing that happens. But it’s so much work that put into the tournament and everything going around us, so we have to appreciate this.”
https://twitter.com/ElinaSvitolina/status/1145663604605296640
Svitolina will play her second round match on Wednesday.
