New York (AFP)
Elina Svitolina, 5th in the world, qualified for the round of 16 of the US Open, removing 6-3, 6-3, Simona Halep (13th), Sunday in New York.
Winner of the Chicago tournament a week ago, the Ukrainian is in good shape as she is nine in a row on hard, and while showing solid in the game, she also took advantage of the irregularity of her opponent .
Illustration in the first set: Halep broke the first, but was immediately broken, because she committed more unforced errors (12 out of her 22 in total).
And when the Ukrainian took the opportunity to equalize at 4-4, the Romanian threw her racquet to the ground in anger.
Frustrated, Halep, winner at Roland Garros in 2018 and Wimbledon in 2019, then again conceded her service game and Svitolina pocketed the first set.
In the process, the Ukrainian further raised her level of play and the Romanian suffered in the exchanges, conceding her commitment three times, as well as her sixth defeat (against four victories) against her opponent.
"I am happy with this victory, it is a great match for me, because I knew that Simona was a great warrior", commented hot the bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, under the eyes of her husband Gaël Monfils in the stands.
Svitolina, semi-finalist of the US Open in 2019, will face in the next round the German Angelique Kerber (17th) or the Canadian Leylah Fernandez (125th), surprise taker of Naomi Osaka in the previous round.
© 2021 AFP