Elina Svitolina has advanced to the Berlin Open quarter-finals after comfortably defeating Eva Lys on Thursday afternoon.
Svitolina, seeded sixth, defeated the home favourite 6-3, 6-2 in the Steffi Graf Stadium.
The Ukrainian star will now face either Alexandra Eala or second seed Elena Rybakina in the last eight.
Following Wednesday’s contest, Svitolina expressed her delight regarding the recent comments made by four-time major champion Kim Clijsters.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
Clijsters, a former world number one, recently praised the Ukrainian’s development on the court following the birth of her child in 2022.
Elina Svitolina says it was ‘nice to have inspiration’ from Kim Clijsters
Clijsters, like Svitolina, also gave birth to a child during her time on the WTA Tour.
Clijsters gave birth to her daughter in 2008 before going on to win a further three Grand Slam titles.
The Belgian recently discussed Svitolina’s Italian Open title win on the Love All Podcast, praising the Ukrainian’s on-court improvements since returning from maternity leave.
Clijsters also said: “I think when she came back from her motherhood, I don’t think a lot of people were expecting the change. It’s not like she wasn’t a good player, she was a great player before.
“But to see the changes that she’s made to her tennis and to become top of the list of hard hitters now, especially with the forehand and the serve has got so much better and aggressive as well.
“I definitely didn’t expect it and just to see her develop in the last couple years and take more and more risks… it takes time to change that, right? You’re going to make some more mistakes because you’re getting pulled out of your comfort zone at times a little bit more.
“But now it’s falling into place and she’s feeling more and more comfortable playing that gamestyle. More consistent and it’s paying off – so the belief is there.
Who is currently the best grass-court player on the WTA Tour?
“Even when she wins, it’s like she’s happy and excited but then she goes on and shakes hands and there’s respect and a maturity that has come with becoming a mum too I think.”
After beating Eva Lys on Wednesday, Svitolina revealed that she had heard Clijsters kind comments.
“Kim Clijsters actually won three Grand Slams after she became a mom, only one before she became a mum,” the on-court WTA interviewer said. “Have you ever exchanged ideas with her?”
“No actually,” Svitolina replied. “But I saw she was happy with the way I was coming back.”
“She gave an interview about me… it was cool. It was nice to have some inspiration from her.
“She’s such a legend. Winning Grand Slams after you become a mum is very special.”
Elina Svitolina’s last Berlin Open campaign
Svitolina is competing in Berlin for the first time since 2021.
Five years ago, the Ukrainian was seeded second at the event, ranked lower than only Aryna Sabalenka.
Unfortunately for Svitolina, she was stunned in her opening round by unseeded Ekaterina Alexandrova.
Alexandrova went on to reach the quarter-finals, before losing to Belinda Bencic.
Qualifier Liudmila Samsonova won the title, beating Bencic 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 in the final.
