Elina Svitolina won the Rome title over the weekend and is now feeling confident ahead of Roland Garros.
Winning breeds confidence. That is certainly applicable for Elina Svitolina as the Ukrainian is in confident mood heading into Roland Garros.
After defeating Elena Rybakina and Iga Swiatek, Svitolina defeated current Roland Garros champion Coco Gauff to claim the title in Rome.
It was the third title for Svitolina after triumphs in 2017 and 2018 but the Ukrainian doesn’t think this title is her biggest title since her comeback to the sport, “I had different titles in different period of time,” Svitolina explained in her press conference after her triumph.
“It’s tough to say which one was the toughest. Every title had its own story. This one is I think one of the toughest draws that I had in a tournament. The way that I’ve been playing I think is, yeah, I’m very proud of the way that I’ve been handling myself and handling the nerves and being consistent. I think it’s important to throughout the year show good consistency. That’s the way that I’m aiming to be.
“I’m happy that my season been like this from the beginning of this year.”
Defeating three world-class players will give Svitolina confidence ahead of Roland Garros as she searches for a first Grand Slam title.
The Ukrainian has admitted that this title has given her confidence ahead of Roland Garros but is also still remaining cautious about her title ambitions in Paris, “Well, I had already two times after winning here the same situation. Now, I mean, it’s been eight years that it happened,” Svitolina stated.
“Of course, gives me a lot of confidence. Gives me a good look at Roland Garros. But still I want to put my head down and to really work, prepare from the first round. There are really tough players. You cannot underestimate. You need to be ready for the first-round matches, big battles. Everybody’s there to beat you. They have nothing to lose, so you have to expect tough matches.
“Yeah, it’s been a very tough, tough matches. I think the only one I remember was also tougher was in Toronto when I won it. I also played I think four top-10 players at that time. Here I think taking into consideration that playing past champions here as well how loves to play here: Rybakina, Swiatek.
“I think also Coco made a final here. She won Roland Garros. She’s a great clay court player. For me, of course it gives me a lot of confidence going into Roland Garros. Yeah, as I mentioned, I’m very proud of the effort, of the intensity that I’ve been able to put in to beat those players.
“For me it’s just taking one match at a time and putting the best effort and giving myself a good chance to compete well.”
Svitolina will be hoping this year can be her year when Roland Garros begins next Sunday.
However, regardless what happens in Paris it has been a sensational comeback story from the Ukrainian who reflected on her achievements so far, “Well, I think I would sign for it, for sure. When I was coming back, for me was important just to give myself a good chance to play the highest level,” Svitolina explained towards the end of her press conference.
“I was never thinking about that I could come back. In a way it came later. I think it was by the stages. First I wanted to be back in top hundred because I was starting from zero, then it was top 30 to be seeded. Then from last year I started to think, okay, my level I think is there. I need to be more consistent, more strong physically to be more consistent, then I can have a chance to go to top 10 because I was playing already good level. Of course, you need to believe it to make it happen. Slowly, little by little, I was believing in it.
“Of course, very proud of the effort, very proud of also coming back from the surgery. I had a surgery two years ago, which was not easy. First one for me, too. Yeah, I had some ups and downs with little stops here and there. Generally I’m just very proud of the way that I’ve been coming back and just giving it my everything to perform at the highest level.”
