Simona Halep vs Elina Svitolina (6-4, 5-7, 1-6)
No one expected Elina Svitolina to win – not against Simona Halep who came from a dominating title run from Madrid.
However, as luck would have it, the Ukrainian defied betting odds with a thrilling comeback that stunned the live betting followers of the Italian Open.
It was indeed a remarkable victory for Svitolina as she now moves in front of the season-long ranking race. It was also her tour-best fourth title of the year – and the most prestigious of her career – which will push her into the Top 10 when the new standings are released.
Of course, it didn’t come easy for the 22-year-old as she was the heavy underdog heading into the matchup, and it showed early on when Halep stormed to a 5-2 lead.
The World No.4 looked to extend her winning streak and was in full control of the game up to that point, but the tides turned when she injured her right ankle while sliding over what appeared to be a small hole in the court.
Halep was still able to win the opening set despite that injury, but she was obviously hurt as she required treatment from a trainer twice. The Romanian also made a lot of errors and was noticeably slower as the game wore on.
The second set was much like the first, featuring long rallies as Halep tried to fight back after trailing 3-1 and 5-3. But Svitolina was able to take advantage of her opponent’s mistakes to force the decider which she utterly dominated by a large margin.
Post-match statistics also showed where Svitolina dominated. She struck 25 winners, committed 37 unforced errors and converted seven of her 11 break point chances, while Halep hit 30 winners but had 47 unforced errors.
”Every day I’m just trying to work on my mental part, my physical, my tennis,” Svitolina said after the match. ”Everything just came together and I’m very happy that it’s happened in such a big tournament.”
With the victory, Svitolina cemented her position as one of the early favourites to win the upcoming French Open.
Meanwhile, Halep’s injury causes some concern about her fitness for the Grand Slam clay tournament.
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