Elina Svitolina bends Anna Blinkova and goes to the round of 16 at Roland-Garros

Feverish start for a triumphant arrival. Elina Svitolina (192nd in the world) beat Russian Anna Blinkova (56th), after an interminable third act and 2h17 of play (6-2, 2-6, 5-7) Friday in the third round of Roland-Garros and clinched their ticket to the round of 16.

Struggling in the first set, largely dominated by Blinkova who distributed the game alone (6-2), Svitolina finally regained her precision and her service which had been lacking until then to win in the second act ( 2-6). The Ukrainian, who made her return to the courts two months ago after giving birth to her daughter in October, seemed to have taken the game on her own at the start of the third set. It was without counting on the tenacity of the 24-year-old Russian, who recovered at 3-3 and began the start of a crazy end to the match.

A disputed third set

The Simonne Mathieu court, almost empty at the start of the match, had largely filled up for this third act and pushed the Ukrainian into an arduous battle. While Blinkova came up to the net more frequently to vary the pace and force Svitolina to take risks, the latter chained controlled passes and lobs. After missing three match points (6-5, 40-A), she found the fault to conclude with a long line forehand and signed her 7th consecutive victory. Her ticket for the round of 16 in her pocket (for the fifth time in her career), she left the court without shaking hands with Blinkova, who seemed to expect it.