Clinical Svitolina sails into Rome final
Defending champ defeats Kontaveit in straight sets, one win away from second Italian Open title
>> ROME: Defending champion Elina Svitolina reached the final of the Italian Open yesterday after putting in a clinical performance to beat unseeded Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-3.
Fourth-ranked Svitolina is aiming for her third title of the season following victories in Brisbane and Dubai.
The Ukrainian fourth seed bided her time and struck at key moments in the match in a display that bodes well for her chances at the French Open later this month.
The 22-year-old Kontaveit offered stiff resistance, hitting 24 winners to Svitolina’s 18, but her opponent converted four of her five break point opportunities while making seven fewer unforced errors in a contest of tight margins.
Svitolina, who beat former world No.1 Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals, started well, breaking early in the first set to go 2-0 up, but Kontaveit held her nerve to take the next three games and edge in front.
With the opener tied at 3-3, Svitolina made her move, coming to the net behind a deep cross-court forehand and displaying a delicate touch to guide a volley into the open court and coax another break point from her opponent that she converted.
The 23-year-old then saved two break points on her own serve and held on to take the opener.
With Svitolina’s speed proving decisive, Kontaveit was forced to mix things up, but the baseliner’s touch deserted her at times in the second set, allowing the speedy Ukrainian to run down a couple of poorly disguised drop shots.
The world No.4 rode her forehand to an early break in the second set, taking a 2-1 lead, and won the match on her opponent’s serve, converting her second match point with a deep forehand that left Kontaveit flailing.
World No.1 Simona Halep was due to face Russian Maria Sharapova in the other semi-final later yesterday.
In last year’s final, Svitolina came back to beat Halep after the Romanian rolled her ankle.
In men’s event, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were due to resume their rivalry in the semifinals yesterday.
Nadal, who holds a record seven titles at the Foro Italico, overcame a poor first set and a partisan crowd to beat Fabio Fognini 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 while four-time Rome winner Djokovic rallied past Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 on Friday.
Nadal and Djokovic have played each other 50 times but their last meeting came more than a year ago, when Nadal won in the Madrid Open semi-finals.
Nadal can replace Roger Federer at No.1 if he lifts the Rome trophy for the first time since 2013. Federer is sitting out the clay season to prepare for Wimbledon, where he will bid for a record-extending 21st Grand Slam title.
In the other men’s semi-final, it’s defending champion Alexander Zverev against Marin Cilic.
German Zverev extended his winning streak to 12 matches with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over ninth-seeded David Goffin while Australian Open finalist Cilic beat 10th-seeded Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3.