In her first hardcourt match since March of last year (Miami Open), Elina Svitolina once again manages to defeat Victoria Azarenka in the Mubadala Citi DC Open on Monday evening.
The Ukrainian extended her successful run against the Belarusian to repeat her Wimbledon victory against the former WTA world No. 1. Displaying her triumphant resurgence post-maternity leave, it took Svitolina 1 hour and 47 minutes to seal a straight sets victory against the 2-time Australian Open champion.
The tournament in Washington stands as the only joint ATP & WTA 500 tournament with a star-studded draw. The strong field of the tourney is evident by the fact that the no-handshakes duo couldn’t face each other before R16 at SW19 but were drawn into R1 clash at the DC Open.
“It was really up and down,” Svitolina said, after the victory. “Just have to try to focus every point, try to find your game again. Just try again and try again to come back into the match.”
The 7-6(2), 6-4 loss and second in a row against the former world #3 was a really painful one, not just for the sake of loss but because of the fact that the Belarusian was unfairly booed by crowds at Wimbledon. Multiple players urged the WTA to release the statement regarding handshakes between the Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian players to finally get an announcement from the tennis body.
Relationship between sports and politics has always been there and it appears that it will be difficult for tennis to stay out of it. The soft protest by Ukrainians is now getting noticed on some of the biggest stages of tennis and as no-handshakes diplomacy is working for them.
Before the start of the Citi Open, Svitolina confirmed that organizers will release the statement during the match which they did before the start of second set.
“At the conclusion of the match, there will be no handshake between the players. We appreciate your respect for both athletes during and following the match, and for your understanding during these difficult circumstances,” said the statement released on the big screen in the stadium.
Both former world No.1 and world No. 3 have expressed approval for their encounters to be discussed for the level of tennis it comes with them and even though their R1 tie was pretty one-sided (not a nail-biting three-setter) this time round but it was still worth-watching.
The first set which lasted just under an hour was a topsy-turvy affair as Ukrainian reeled off eleven consecutive pts to lead 3-0 but blew out the lead quick by allowing the Belarusian to take the next five games who would lead 5-3 to serve for the set. Azarenka started with 30-0 to serve for the set and was only two points away from taking the first set but the pendulum swung back Svitolina’s way and bounced back to win following three games in a row to force a tie-break which she won 7-2.
The second set was a battle of breaks. The ten games between the rivals recorded only one crucial hold of serve which came from Svitolina in the 5th game of the set. Despite the compromised quality of play between the two mums, the sole hold of serve proved to be key in yet another rollercoaster frame that ended 6-4.
Closing out the win with a winner 💥@ElinaSvitolina picks up the 7-6(2), 6-4 win over Azarenka.#MubadalaCitiDCOpen pic.twitter.com/YMfqNqEjN0
— wta (@WTA) August 1, 2023
“I just want to give it all now [in] these years that I have left,” Svitolina said. “I have this motivation to go for more and just give it all,” said the former world No. 3 after the victory.
Once again, as expected, there was no handshake between the old rivals and both greeted each other with quick thumbs up. However, the much anticipated paring now a days remained unhurt from booing because of the timely intervention from organizers.
Head-to-Head: Svitolina vs. Azarenka
Now in the twilight of her career, Azarenka, 34 was leading the head-to-head with Svitolina 5-0 in their first five meetings, but Svitolina finally got her first blood last month at SW19 as she clinched the gripping Wimbledon fourth-round encounter via a final-set tiebreak to get off the mark. The revised head-to-head between the duo is now 5-2.