Svitolina and Muguruza move to Chicago Fall Classic quaterfinal

Elina Svitolina bested Ruse in two sets while Muguruza got the benefit of Azarenka withdrawing before the match, to move on to the next round of the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic.

Garbine Muguruza and Victoria Azarenka should have a played a very interesting 3rd round match at the Chicago Tennis Classic yet the Belarussian player withdrew from the match an hour before it was due to start. It was supposed to be the 3rd match in 2021 between the two players but this is the 2nd time Azarenka handed a walk over to Muguruza.

Unlike the Spaniard, Elina Svitolina had to earn her quarterfinal berth on the court. She faced Elana Ruse from Romanian and Ruse had a tricky start. After only 3 games she called a MTO for an injury that bothered her but she decided to continue the match. Svitolina took a 3-1 lead but surrendered it right away as Ruse pulled it back to 3-3.

Even so, the Romanian was clearly bothered by her injury and Svitolina was able to take advantage of that winning 3 straight games to win the opening set 6-3. Ruse was broken 3 times in total during that first set and things did not improve much after that.

She bravely fought and powered through her injury but it was only a matter of time before Svitolina would break her and it happened midway through the set. At 5-3 she served for the match and closed it out with 6-3 by saving two break points in the final game. Good wins for seeds Svitolina and Muguruza who continue their quest towards the trophy.