By Chris Oddo | Tuesday October 23, 2018
Haters be damned, Elina Svitolina has the hot hand in Singapore.
The World No.7 continued her torrid tennis on Tuesday at the WTA Finals, sending a message to the field and to discerning tennis fans everywhere: She deserves to be in Singapore, and very well could scamper away with the title.
Svitolina backed up her straight-sets victory over Petra Kvitova on Sunday with a three-set win over Kvitova’s compatriot Karolina Pliskova, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. It was Svitolina’s third consecutive win over Pliskova, and her sixth Top 10 win of the season.
“It was a really tricky match today,” Svitolina said on court after her victory. “I was trying to stay really focused and playing one point at a time. It was the key.”
The Ukrainian, who is the only player from her country to ever contest a singles match at the WTA Finals, came into Singapore with a chip on her shoulder, eager to prove that her disappointing second half of 2018 wasn’t the real her.
On Sunday in press she uttered strong words to illuminated her current mindset.
“This win [over Kvitova] definitely now I want to take as one to go forward, and for all those probably people and haters that were saying that I don't deserve to be here and I'm, you know, not good,” she said.
So far, she's appeared to be on a mission, and is playing her best tennis since May when she won the Rome title. Svitolina had lost four of her last six prior to the start of play in Singapore.
On Tuesday she played decisive tennis against Pliskova, reacting with confidence when the Czech hit back in the second set to force a decider.
Svitolina attacked Pliskova’s second serve with impunity in the final set, winning 10 of 13 second-serve return points and breaking four times on ten opportunities. She raced off to a 4-0 lead and finished strong with a break after failing to serve the match out at 5-2.
The slow-playing hard courts at Singapore appear to be helping Svitolina impose her advantage from the baseline, not surprisingly.
Clutch play when it mattered most helped Svitolina early in the encounter as she saved all eight break points she faced in the opening set, including six in a marathon third game that lasted over fifteen minutes—statement made.
The victory has huge implications for both players in terms of semifinal qualification at Singapore.
Svitolina needs only to win a set to qualify and any type of a win would enable her to clinch first place in the White Group.
Pliskova, who defeated Caroline Wozniacki in her first match, still has a great chance to qualify, and can ensure herself of a spot in the semis with a victory against Kvitova on Thursday in Singapore.
Here’s a full breakdown of White Group qualification scenarios from WTA Insider: