The world’s number two Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) saved three match points en route to a 2-1 (4:6, 6:1, 7:6) success over two-time champion Elina Svitolina (Ukraine) in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 Rome Open. The Belarusian tennis player trailed 0:2 in the second set, but managed to make a comeback in a match that ended well past midnight at the Foro Italico.
“I gave my all. I couldn’t just give up and leave the court. I had the feeling that if my body allows me to play even 15% of my best tennis, I will stay there and fight”, said Aryna Sabalenka after the success.
Aryna Sabalenka lost in the first set, but was very convincing in the second. However, the third setstarted with an advance for Svitolina – 2:0. The Belarusian player managed to win four games in a row, but was unable to close the match on her serve, serving at 5:4. Aryna Sabalenka even managed to save a match point for the Ukrainian when she served at 5-6 to stay in the match.
Elina Svitolina reached two match points in the deciding tiebreak as well, but Aryna Sabalenka again saved them and then prevailed over her opponent. The match lasted 2 hours and 24 minutes.
In the quarter-finals, Aryna Sabalenka, who reached the final in Madrid, will face 9th-seeded Jelena Ostapenko (Latvia), who eliminated the Slovakian qualifier Rebecca Sramkova (Slovakia) by 2-1 (4:6, 6:4, 7:6) to reach the quarter-finals of the WTA 1000 Rome Open for the fourth time in her career.
This will be the first clay-court match between Jelena Ostapenko and Aryna Sabalenka, with the reigning Australian Open champion winning both of their hard-court encounters.
Another player from Belarus – Victoria Azarenka, also qualified for the quarterfinals, defeating the 5th-seeded Maria Sakkari (Greece) by 2-0 (6:4, 6:1). In the next phase, she will play against Danielle Collins (USA), who won convincingly over Irina-Camelia Begu (Romania) by 2-0 (6:0, 6:3).
