WORLD number five Elina Svitolina has claimed her 15th career title, and second for 2020 with a victory in the Internationaux de Strasbourg. The Ukrainian second seed took one hour and 53 minutes to win over a determined fifth seed Kazakh in Elena Rybakina. It was Rybakina’s fifth final in 2020, but finished the match extending her record to 1-4, as her more experienced opponent got the better of her in three sets, 6-4 1-6 6-2.

In challenging weather conditions and a rain delay to start the match, it took until the fifth game for Svitolina to break Rybakina, and that break helped her secure the first set 6-4. The second set belonged to Rybakina as she levelled the match with a dominant 6-1 performance, including producing just eight unforced errors. While Rybakina had not dropped a set during the tournament, she had in this match and it was now back on level pegging looking to a deciding third set.

A couple of breaks in the final set sealed the match for the second seed as Svitolina enjoyed a nice run in to Roland Garros which starts tomorrow. The Ukrainian said she had to fight through a disappointing second set before coming out on top in the third.

“It really gave me confidence to come back into the match,” she said post-match. “The second set was a little bit one sided. It gave me hope and a better feel at the beginning of the third set.

Svitolina said she was pleased she could reset and perform back at her best in the deciding set, especially considering the conditions.

“It was important to regroup and to get back into the match. It was really positive stuff for me,” she said. “Normally the tournaments are playing in really hot conditions. We were happy to finish today. In the end we got lucky to play. It’s different conditions to what we were expecting. I handled these conditions and the conditions well here in Strasbourg.”

Rybakina fell short yet again in 2020, and attributed to a third set fade where she could have been more composed, but congratulated her opponent on fighting through the conditions.

“I rushed a bit in the third set. I lost a few games very quickly. I can serve a little bit better and make some better decisions,” Rybakina said. “It was so tough to play today because of the cold. “It was the same for both of us. We had to fight and try to do our best.”

Both players head to Roland Garros with Rybakina matching up against Sorana Cirstea in the first round, while third seed Svitolina will lock horns with Varvara Gracheva.

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