As Elina Svitolina stepped up to the baseline to contest her second match point 20 minutes after squandering her first, she sprinted on the spot, she furiously swung forehands and backhands in the air and did everything to show that she was ready. Nearly two hours into her fourth-round battle with Daria Kasatkina, seemingly every exchange had been long, intense and physical, but Svitolina knows that few players can match her physicality.
Moments later Svitolina extended her brilliant comeback as she outlasted Kasatkina, the ninth seed, 6-4, 7-5 in two exhausting sets to reach the quarter-finals of her first grand slam tournament since becoming a mother.
After twice failing to serve out the match in the second set, the world No 192 gave a comprehensive demonstration of her resilience as she recovered to close out the match in two sets. Svitolina, who started the season unranked, is now on an eight-match winning streak after winning Strasbourg the week before the French Open and an undeniable contender in Paris.
“Definitely, I wouldn’t dream about this when I was giving birth in October last year,” Svitolina said. “This is unbelievable for me to be able to compete here and then going all the way to the quarter-final is definitely a really special feeling.”
In the years since Svitolina’s biggest successes, the women’s game has seen a notable shift. While other defence-based players like Simona Halep, Angelique Kerber, Caroline Wozniacki occupied the rankings then, today the top 10 is filled with first-strike, attacking players.
But this was reminiscent of Svitolina’s counterpunching battles with previous top players, both players working hard to break the other down and grind each other to dust. In the end, Svitolina’s greater consistency, physicality and ability to end points inside the baseline saw her through.
Svitolina has now reached nine grand slam quarter-finals, but this tournament marks the first time that two Ukrainian players have reached the second week of the French Open at the same time, with Lesia Tsurenko to face Iga Swiatek on Monday.
The match was also Svitolina’s second in a row against a Russian player, but Kasatkina has been the most outspoken Russian player since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Supporting Kasatkina from her player box was Zemfira, an iconic Russian rock musician who was placed on a list of “foreign agents” after supporting Ukraine and criticising Russia’s invasion. She now lives in Paris.
As Kasatkina’s final forehand flew long, Kasatkina signalled a thumbs up towards Svitolina and then departed, fully aware and understanding of the reasons why she would not be able to shake hands after a fair battle. Svitolina responded with the same gesture.
“Definitely I acknowledged the match today,” said Svitolina. “Really thankful for her position that she took. Yeah, she’s really brave person to say it publicly, that not so many players did. She’s a brave one.”
At the height of her powers, Svitolina was known for her frailty under the immense pressure of grand slam tournaments, yet she has returned playing with more conviction and assertiveness.
“I feel almost like I’m 17 again coming on the tour fresh. I’m not defending any points. Not here, not next week. Yeah, it’s definitely I feel more free,” she said.
As she digested her unexpectedly fast return to form, Svitolina was thankful towards the French public for allowing her to feel, through their support, what her husband, Gaël Monfils, has experienced for years in Paris. “Last French player standing,” she said, smiling.
Ranked No 333 after being forced away from the sport for a total of 10 months because of a serious knee injury, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova continued her surprise run by reaching the quarter-finals with a 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 win against Elise Mertens, the 28th seed. Pavlyuchenkova trailed 4-6, 1-3 and 0-40 before her laser-like groundstrokes clicked into gear and she escaped with her third consecutive three-set win against a seeded opponent.