Svitolina happy with her Dubai win
dubai — Elina Svitolina, touted as the next big thing in women’s tennis, was delighted with her Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships triumph, her first Premier 5 title.
Svitolina was in sublime form in her in straight sets (6-4 6-2) win over former world number one Caroline Wozniacki in the Dubai final on Saturday.
“Of course, I have won (five titles) before. But those were smaller WTA tournaments. The pressure was just building, and then I was like, ‘Come on, you need to try to take those good things from small tournaments that you win and play very consistent in the big tournaments and big matches, you know,” the 22-year-old Ukrainian youngster
Of course, I have won (five titles) before. But those were smaller WTA tournaments Elina Svitolina
said at the post-match press conference on Saturday night.
“So I’m now very happy that I could play great all week, very solid tennis. Of course, there have been some downs, but the way I recovered, I’m really happy the way I did it,” she added.
Svitolina admitted that the stunning fightback from an injured Angelique Kerber in the second set of the semifinal did unsettle her mentally.
“I tried to straightaway analyse what happened and focus on the next match. I didn’t really think about what went wrong. And then with the rains that delayed the final I lost lots of energy. It was very tough.
“But in the end, you know, I said to myself, ‘Come on, you can do it. Give everything you have. This is the final. So just one last push, and then you can just enjoy.”
Svitolina is now on a 12-game unbeaten run.
“Well, I don’t think about it. Of course, I have confidence now in my game, and I just tried to go out there and win matches. This is the main goal for me,” she said.
“If I lose some matches, it’s okay. I’m going to analyze, work hard and then come back stronger.”
The Ukrainian was all praise for the Dubai tennis organisers.
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com