Elina Svitolina Fights Back To Beat Raducanu As Gauff Marches on In Auckland - UBITENNIS

Elina Svitolina Fights Back To Beat Raducanu As Gauff Marches on In Auckland

By Adam Addicott
5 Min Read

Second seed Elina Svitolina survived a big scare in the second round of the ASB Classic in Auckland after fighting back from a set down to beat Emma Raducanu. 

The world No.25 weathered the storm to beat the former US Open champion 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-1, after more than two hours of play. Thursday’s encounter in New Zealand was the first meeting between both players with this week being Raducanu’s first Tour-level event since April after taking time away to undergo tripple surgery on both of her wrists and one of her ankles. 

“It was a really great match from both of us,” said Svitolina.
“I think Emma played a great match as well. It was really physically difficult and I hope I can recover (in time) for tomorrow. “

Similar to her previous match against Elena-Gabriela Ruse, Raducanu was once again in a roller-coaster encounter. During the first set, she stormed to a 5-1 lead before Svitolina managed to claw her way back to draw level. Then in the tiebreaker, there was little to distinguish between both players but Raducanu managed to snatch the opener with a carefully placed forehand drop shot. 

The cat-and-mouse chase continued into the second frame which began with three breaks of serve before Svitolina held to move ahead 3-1. Then it was Raducanu’s turn to hit back with a three-game winning streak to put her back into the lead. The Brit also had two break points for a 5-3 lead but failed to convert both of them. 

That failure paved the way for Svitolina to fight back and this time she held her nerve to close out the second set to force proceedings into a decider.

With the momentum behind the Ukranian, she surged through the third set in just 31 minutes. Sealing the win on her third match point with a forehand winner. It is the second match in a row that Svitolina has beaten a former Grand Slam champion after knocking out Caroline Wozniacki in the first round. 

“I had two great matches against Caroline and Emma. They both played really well and I’m really happy with how I handled the pressure moments,” she commented.

This week Svitolina is bidding to become the first player from her country to reach the final in Auckland. 

Gauff cruises through

Top seed Coco Gauff dropped only three games during her 6-3, 6-0, win over 16-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova in what was a battle of the youngsters. Despite the straightforward scoreline, Gauff was tested at times during the match where she saved five out of six break points. The defending champion is currently on a seven-match winning streak at the tournament. 

“Overall I played a good match,” Gauff said afterwards.
“She started off strong and I was able to raise my level for the rest of the set and the second too.”

One particular positive for the reigning US Open champion concerned her first serve. Against Fruhvirtova, she won 23 out of 27 points played behind her first serve. However, there is still room for improvement when it comes to her second where she won only 41% (9/22). 

“That was one of the goals during the offseason, to serve better and I think I have a lot to improve just on the serve,” she said.
“But I do think from the last tournament I played to now, I am serving a lot better.
“As long as I can keep improving every week, that’s all I can ask for.”

Gauff will next play Varvara Gracheva in the quarter-finals who beat Swiss player Lulu Sun 6-3, 6-4. 

TAGGED:
Leave a comment