By Chris Oddo | Saturday May 28, 2016
Elina Svitolina ended a seven-match losing streak against Ana Ivanovic to reach the Round of 16 in Paris for the second consecutive year.
Photo Source: Christopher Levy
Elina Svitolina may not be a fast learner—but she is a learner. The Ukrainian, who fell seven consecutive times to Ana Ivanovic, including twice in the last two years at Roland Garros, snapped the streak today with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 victory on Court 1.
Video: Mladenovic's Touch Torments Serena
Svitolina reaches the second week at la ville lumière for the second consecutive year, and will face either Serena Williams or Kristina Mladenovic next.
"I was trying -- even when I was down a little bit in my mind, but I was trying to play what the coach has been telling me and what was the plan for me,” Svitolina said. Now working with four-time champion Justine Henin, the relationship appears to finally be paying dividends for the 21-year-old. “I think it worked really well, because it was up and down in my game, and in her game, as well. I needed to be really positive and focused on what I supposed to do.”
In a match that featured 12 breaks of serve, the crucial points were one by Svitolina. After being broken for 4-all in set one, she broke immediately back and took the set in the next game.
Svitolina then rallied to grab a 4-1 lead in set two before a fight-back by the Serb brought her level at 4-all. But errors creeped into Ivanovic’s game again as she dropped the final two games and the match against her steadier opponent.
“My forehand wasn't really working today,” Ivanovic said. “I was making a lot of errors. I managed to get back into match and then few disappointing errors always came in the wrong time. I felt like that was sort of throughout the match.”
In other early action on Day 6, Timea Bacsinszky booked her spot in the Round of 16 with a 6-4, 6-2 win over France’s Pauline Parmentier.
Yulia Putintseva thumped Italy’s Karin Knapp, 6-1, 6-1, while Carla Suarez Navarro outlasted Dominika Cibulkova, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.