Svitolina beats Australian Open debutant to reach third round - video
Elina Svitolina advances to third round in Australian Open (Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy)
Ukrainian tennis star Elina Svitolina (No. 12 WTA) advanced to the third round of the Australian Open.
In the second round, Svitolina faced Poland’s Linda Klimovicova (No. 134 WTA). The 21-year-old Polish player was making her debut in the main draw of the Australian Open and in any Grand Slam tournament.
Svitolina faced serious resistance in the opening set. Klimovicova forced a tight battle, but the Ukrainian avoided a tiebreak and closed the set 7—5.
The second set was fully under Svitolina’s control, as she comfortably defeated her opponent 6—1.
Match details
Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia
Second round
Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) — Linda Klimovicova (Poland) — 7—5, 6—1
The match lasted 1 hour and 16 minutes. During that time, Svitolina hit three aces and committed two double faults.
In the third round, the Ukrainian will face world No. 22 Diana Shnaider of Russia, who competes under a neutral status.
This is Svitolina’s 13th appearance at the Australian Open. Last season, she reached the quarterfinals. She also made it to that stage in 2018 and 2019.
She is the only Ukrainian player to advance past the first round in the women’s singles draw. Marta Kostyuk, Dayana Yastremska, Yuliia Starodubtseva, Oleksandra Oliynykova, and Anhelina Kalinina all lost their opening matches.
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