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ELINA SVITOLINA French Open 2020
Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments, WTA Tennis Players

‘My mental toughness really helped me’, says Elina Svitolina after comeback win over Petra Kvitova


Elina Svitolina said she was “locked in for a big fight” after saving two match points to beat Petra Kvitova and reach the semi-finals of the Stuttgart Open.

The world No. 5 prevailed 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the WTA 500 tournament on Friday. The Ukrainian turned the match around by winning five straight games to edge the second set after having trailed 2-5.

“A big battle is always very satisfying, and you know that the hard work pays off. It’s always an unbelievable feeling to go through this kind of match,” Svitolina said in her post-match press conference.

“In the end, a few points here and there got me back into the match. From 3-5, 4-5 [in the second set] I was ready, fighting and locked in for a big fight.

“I always wanted to play well against [Kvitova] because I think she is a great champion and you want to challenge these kind of players.

“The past few matches that we had, it was always a big fight, good quality of the matches. So, it’s really good to get the wins like that, and I’m very proud of the performance of the past few matches that I showed.

“Point after point I tried to erase the bad thoughts and try to just play one point at a time, and in the end it really helped me to fight through today. It helped me to reset and to play the pressure points.

“[Kvitova] was returning extremely well throughout the match, so I had to really be strong and play well under pressure points and it happened in the second set. Then in the third set, I was very solid and my mental toughness really helped me.”

The 26-year-old will face world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the last four today.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.