Elina Svitolina faced 20 break points against Elena Rybakina, saving 16 of them to guide her to an upset win over the World No. 2 on Wednesday night and send her through to the Rome semifinals for the first time in eight years.
Rome: Scores | Draws | Order of play
The fighting spirit Svitolina showed in her come-from-behind 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in 2 hours and 23 minutes has long been a hallmark of her decorated career, which includes two Rome titles. She won those titles in back-to-back years in 2017 and 2018, the latter marking the last time she reached the semifinals.
Until now.
With the win, Svitolina improves to 4-4 against Rybakina at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and advances to face another multi-time champion, Iga Swiatek. Swiatek, a three-time Rome winner, moved through to the semifinals earlier Wednesday with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jessica Pegula in 67 minutes.
It sets up the sixth meeting between Svitolina and Swiatek, with Swiatek holding a 4-2 edge in the head-to-head. Svitolina won their most recent encounter, however, in their lone matchup this season at the Indian Wells.
More to come…